Vetrimaaran is one director who always banks on his script and power-packed performances of the actors to make a good film.

The film revolves around rooster fights and the people involved in them. There are two groups of people in a village near Madurai who try to get the better of each other in rooster fights. One group includes Karuppu(Dhanush), Durai(Kishore) and it is led by Pettaikaran (Jayabalan).The other group is led by a police officer Ratnasamy (Naren),whose efforts of winning against Pettaikaran always go in vain. Karuppu falls for Irene (Tapasee),who is an Anglo Indian girl. Under these circumstances, Pettaikaran turns against Karuppu after Karuppu wins a big tournament. Pettaikaran could not digest the instant stardom of Karuppu. So, he wants to see the downfall of Karuppu and turns cunning. What follows then is a series of events which shows all the human emotions like jealousy, ego, friendship, trust, betrayal etc.

Dhanush is a revelation in the film. Be it expressions or dialogue delivery or simple dance movements, he has done his best. He has graduated to the next level in acting. All the supporting actors have given a subtle and neat performance. G.V. Prakash Kumar's music is scintillating. 'Yaathe Yaathe' and 'Ayyayo' are foot-tapping numbers and have gone well with the class and mass alike. The film is technically brilliant and cinematographer Velraj must be given his due credits.

Vetrimaaran has proved that he is not a 'flash in the pan' and he is here to stay. His screenplay is brilliant and that is why even when a rooster wins, there is thunderous applause in the movie hall. The pre-interval rooster fight is one of the major highlights of the film. He has held the attention of the viewers for most part of the film. The second half may seem to be slow paced, but when human emotions are portrayed with such precision, that pace is quite understandable.

Aadukalam is one of the best films in recent times. Just go for it.