Veyil starts off with a brutal fight between the protagonist Murugesan (the talented Pasupathy) and an innocuous looking chap, set in a storm.
Then the film goes into flashback mode -- all sunshine and happy days. Beautiful sequences shot in Virudhanagar fields and lanes show Murugesan's happy childhood with his mischevious younger brother Kathir (Bharath). The song Veyilodu Vilaiyaadi is delightfully picturised here.
One day, film-crazy Murugesan is caught by his father for bunking school to watch a movie in the local theatre, and smoking while at it. He is punished severely -- beaten, stripped naked, tied up and left in the sun without food for hours. Unable to bear the humiliation thereafter, he runs away from home after stealing some of his mother's jewellery and cash.
He finds himself in a small town, where the main source of revenue appears to be the local theatre. The film then goes into a rather obvious imitation of the Italian classic Cinema Paradiso: the boy, after losing the valuables he had stolen, is taken care of by the ticket collector/projectionist. He grows into a hefty man, absorbed in the magic of cinema and his love for village belle, Thangam.
He returns home after 20 years, inciting dramatically mixed reactions -- his father is furious, while his younger brother, now the proprietor of a successful advertising enterprise, is overjoyed.
There are signs of Murugesan's romance rekindlking with his childhood sweetheart Pandiamma (Shriya Reddy), who is bringing up her young daughter alone after deserting her abusive husband. Meanwhile, impetuous and short-tempered Kathir develops an affair with a young voice-over artist, the lovely Meenakshi (Bhavana).
AR Rehman's nephew GV Prakash's music score is commendable for a debut, showing signs of achievements to come.
Veyil is a film filled with energy from the word go. It keeps you engaged till the end with its alpha-male aggression tinged with dollops of sentimentality. The way the film is shot truly determines the dark tone of the subject. Virudhanagar is the perfect setting for the film, as it is quaintly rural.
The stalwart Pasupathy is undoubtedly the star of the film with his poignant portrayal of the ill-destined Murugesan. Bharath plays the hot-headed hero with ease, but this aggression makes his romantic scenes with Bhavana somewhat ineffective. Bhavana, with her dazzling smile, fits the role of Meenakshi. But it is Shriya Reddy who stands out in the small but significant role as Pandiamma. This dusky beauty charms the audience with her rustic elegance and acting prowess.
Director Vasantha Balan has deftly handled the script, making it his own. By maintaining an energetic pace throughout, he ensures the story doesn't become monotonous or conventional, despite the somewhat predictable plot. His characters are distinctly human with myriad personality flaws, so that the audience can identify with them.
Even the violence is highly realistic, because he gets his actors to literally breathe aggression from within. He also manages to get the aesthetic features of Virudhunagar to add flavour to the film.
Rediff Rating:
