Pavithra Srinivasan feels Tamil film Venghai is an overdose of rural action. Post YOUR reviews here!The standard formula for director Hari's film goes something like this: Take a couple of hundred
aruvaals or scythes, add liberal doses of a fiery hero who bashes men and speaks in a monotone about home, values, and family ties. Then mix well with four or five of Devisri Prasad's songs which sound the same, throw in a couple of tea-spoons of glamour in the form of a dazzlingly white heroine, bake in the oven of sentimental melodrama, and serve spicy hot -- with a dash of comedy sprinkled on top.
It works sometimes. In
Venghai, though, a Vijaya Production (received with victorious yells by the audience), it doesn't. Hari pretty much goes with the same formula, with large doses of action, and all you can think of is how soon will it end. But first, the factors that actually make some parts of the film watchable.
Raj Kiran. As unlikely as it may seem, this middle-aged man who plays Veera Pandi, wealthy landowner and father figure to numerous villagers, manages to be righteous, just, and fair, without sounding like a caricature. With numerous men at his beck and call, he wields a power that's almost unheard of, with everyone willing to lay their lives at his feet in an instant. And yet, his love for his son Selvam (Dhanush) is a wonderful thing. His tension and anger when he sees his bloodied and battered son, and wants instant retribution, is a nice touch. Such human reactions warm your heart.
The plot-point that connects Radhika (Tamannaah), Selvam's love-interest who, at first simply ignores him and later falls for him, was a smart move, considering how under-utilised heroines usually are. Unfortunately, considering the build-up it is given, this dissipates soon enough.
When he is not mouthing his dialogues in a monotone, Dhanush's acting is quite good. When he opens up and lets his emotions show, whether it is love for a woman or affection for his father, he really does make you sit up. His screen-presence is one factor that keeps you in your seat.
The pity is that the disadvantages rather outnumber the plus-points, beginning with the tired story-line. We are back in
the rural wilds of Tamil Nadu that abound in sharp weapons, death, and destruction. Scythes (the preferred weapon of destruction) are raised, blows are given, blood splatters and this sequence is repeated every five minutes. Even worse is the justification for all this mayhem that director Hari puts into the mouths of his leading men: "It's wrong if your raise an