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Vellithirai Movie Review |
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| Behindwoods
Movie Review Board |
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Starring:
Prithviraj, Prakash Raj, Gopika, Lakshmi Rai, M.S. Bhaskar,
Sampath, Srikanth and others.
Direction: Viji
Music: G V Prakash
Cinematography:
Panneerselvam
Production: Prakash Raj |
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A witty satire of the perils of stardom in Indian cinema.
Though Vellithriai, the Tamil remake of Malayalam’s
Udayananu Tharam, lacks the original’s brilliant touches,
it is still entertaining to an extent. Vellithirai brings
back the successful duo of Prakash Raj – Prithviraj
together and the combination works well, if not as superbly
as the legendary Mohan Lal - Srinivasan combo in 'Udhayananu
Tharam'.
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Saravanan (Prithviraj) is a struggling assistant director.
He lives in Kodambakam, where there are several other
hopefuls and wannabes: friends and rivals struggling
together. Saravanan’s dream is to make his own
film and he has a foolproof scheme to achieve this goal:
write a sure-fire script and insist on directing it
himself. His roommate, Kannayan (Prakash Raj) a sly,
struggling and untalented actor hatches a plot to steal
the script, pass it off on his own, and insist on being
the star of the film. One day Saravanan pitches his
story to Trisha (playing herself) and is shocked to
discover that Trisha already knows the story. His dreams
shattered, he turns to the famous actress Mythili (Gopika),
for help. Can Saravanan outwit Kannayan who has now
become a big star?
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We won’t elaborate more on the plot that takes
interesting turns except to say that the climax borrows
from the Hollywood satire about moviemaking, Bowfinger.
Prakash Raj in an interview to The Hindu said, “Don’t
call it a remake. Call it an inspiration.” The
Tamil keeps the outline of the original’s plot
but changes many details, including the dialogue,
which is written with an eye to a Tamil audience.
Vellitherai deftly satirizes commercial cinema: and
in the process indicting Indian stars and their nearly
fascistic behavior on and off a film set. The most
pointed dialogue is when Prakash Raj says to his friend,
'Mustafa turning into Hanuman is possible only in
tinsel town'. The satirical portions in the film have
been crafted deftly, especially the scene between
director and star about the absurd age factor of Indian
movie heroes.
Prithviraj is wonderful in this role. He doesn’t
stereotype the struggling artist but gives the character
doubt, integrity, and compassion. Prakash Raj is flamboyant
and complex as the bad actor who has to act to save
his life. A challenge for any actor: how does a good
actor play a bad one? His over the top stylish makeover
as the star in the second half may make him look funny,
but that is the point: to make fun of this pompous
man. Gopika as expected is quite natural. Though the
film’s focus on the personal problems of a heroine
makes for good viewing, her extended mushy act does
get a bit tiresome.
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Everyone in Vellitherai has worked hard to make this resemble
a movie about a movie as much as possible. M.S. Bhaskar
playing the manager’s role, and Charlie as production
manager illustrate this best. Cinematography by Paneerselvam
is top notch. One of G.V.Praskash’s melodies is really
foot tapping: 'Kanavugal' canned at several beautiful locations
is a visual treat. But his background score does leave lot
to be desired.
The choreography and sets for the songs are tasteful, even
ironic. They are at once mocking and sincere, suggesting
that commercial cinema is always a compromise: something
a serious filmmaker like Saravanan is forced to contend
with on his road to success. Viji, the debuting director,
who had earlier scored handsomely for his dialogues in movies
like Mozhi and Azhagiya Theeya, seems to be learning the
ropes in the direction front. Climax for one could have
been shaped up better. Overall, movies about movies are
rare enough in Tamil cinema and a new addition to the genre
is always welcome and the attempt is much appreciated.
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Verdict: Good, but not as good as the original.
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