Director Hari’s forte lies in subjects that deal with familial relationships, their ramifications, their highs and lows which he usually narrates with a village backdrop. The family values and sentiments are the fulcrums around which Hari hinges his tale in an interesting manner. In Vijaya Productions Venghai, the director teams up with Dhanush for the first time to tell his story that is said to be a symbol of valor.

Venghai is all about the conflict between its three protagonists, Dhanush, his dad Raj Kiran and Prakash Raj and the pendulum this time seems to sway more towards the action side than the sentiment region justifying the tagline of the film.

Although Hari’s films follow a standard template which the movie going audience is well aware of, there would always be interesting knots in the narration that keep the viewer’s interest alive, but in Venghai, these features are very few and the predictability factor takes the pizzaz out from the happenings on screen.

The lengthiness of the film and the logorrhea of the characters are a few factors that work against Venghai. The screen play and the narration travel on an expected course making the fare an unexciting one. Flashes of interest invoking anecdotes do appear like the hiding of counterfeit currency in Raj Kiran’s house and Dhanush’s attempt to thwart the same but they are very few in numbers.

Love in Venghai has been handled well by Hari and the manner in which Dhanush falls in love with Tamannah and their subsequent interactions and the emotions that they go through are very natural and realistic and nowhere do they go overboard.

Most of the sequences involving the confrontation between the three leads give a déjà vu feel from many of Hari’s earlier films and other films too, the key one being the realization of Raj Kiran as Dhanush’s dad by the baddies and their subsequent withdrawal from killing Dhanush, a la Sandakozhi.

The momentum of the film is not uniform with frequent crests and troughs with more of the latter. After a point, the aruvals, the Tata Sumos and the fast moving convoy of vehicles become very tedious.

Dhanush as the affectionate and understanding son presents his role convincingly but there is not enough fodder to satiate his acting prowess. Tamannah appears in homely costumes even in song sequences and comes across as a very somber and matured girl. For Prakash Raj who has done such innumerable roles in his career, his character portrayal in Venghai is just a cakewalk. Rajkiran as the man who commands respect in the village sails through his role. Orvashi and Sudha Chandran (after a long hiatus) deliver a neat performance.

However in the name of comedy, it is Kanja Karuppu who gives the audience arduous times and his high decibeled voice certainly annoys. His tangential comedy tracks and antics also don’t add value to the film.

Despite the songs not being forced in to the narration, but for Kaalankaarthale, others don’t make an impact. And Devi Prasad’s RR is an aural sore, to say the least. Other technical contribution just pass muster and are ordinary.

To sum it all, Venghai is another Hari film with his usual ingredients but sans his usual spirit and this film might work for people who seek action entertainers set in villages.

Verdict: Another Hari film that engages mildly