After having been in the cans for a while, Veppam produced by Gautham Vasudev Menon for Photon Kathas and directed by debutant Anjana who apprenticed under him, finally hit the marquee today. The title appears to signify the fire in the belly of the youth populace that leads them into many tricky situations.

The story revolves around the three protagonists Nani (debut), Karthik Kumar and Nithya Menen belonging to lower strata of society. They practically grow up together and the events that happen in their life form the main arc of Veppam.

For her maiden directorial product, Anjana has chosen a genre that predominantly focuses on action with romance to pep up the proceedings. But the narration lacks the fizz that is required for such a theme and the film slips into dull tones quite often resulting in a low engaging quotient. A homogenous cohesive screen play could have helped Veppam a lot and its inconsistency works big time against it.

Karthik Kumar has gotten out of his ‘NRI’ maapillai tag and sports a mechanic look. He is convincing enough and pitches in his best act through his eyes when Bindhu Madhavi, his lover, a commercial sex worker, has to leave him to attend to her customer.  Nani looks ruggedly handsome and has the potential to strike it rich in the right projects. Nithya Menen’s innocent, bubbly and raw looks add value to her character but her voice sounds too suave and refined for her role. Gautham Menon’s voice for Nani’s elder brother brings in the desired effect. The character of Ammaji on the lines of Sornakka is not menacing enough to send chill down your spine.

The interactions between Nani and Nithya bring out the affection they share but it is difficult to fathom the ways of Nani, an engineering student. His reactions upon losing his close buddy are also not forceful enough.     

A cinematographer’s success lies in the camera unobtrusively travelling with the moods of the story and Om Prakash’s dexterity in this segment comes to the fore especially in the small confines of the abodes of the lead characters. Joshua Sridhar’s tracks are already chartbusters and Mazhai Varum and Kaatril Eeram stay with you long after you leave the hall. Although the songs sound good, their placement and validation do not work in their favor.

The second half of Veppam scores over first half which unfolds at a languorous pace. Veppam does not engross you completely as you tend to get detached from the screen quite often. The story line for most part travels on a predictable course with not many surprising factors but for the location of the drug peddled, towards the climax.  

Anjana’s intentions to deliver a story about the lives of slum dwellers may be sincere but where she lacks is at the execution level which could have been accomplished in a more powerful manner. 

Verdict: Not hot enough!