Vettaiyan review: Rajinikanth gets a rooted script in TJ Gnanavel's middling drama

Vettaiyan movie review: Director TJ Gnanavel's Vettaiyan, starring Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan and Rana Daggubati, is a social commentary on extrajudicial killings. Good, solid moments get overshadowed by predictability.

In Short

• Vettaiyan released in theatres amid massive anticipation on October 10
• The film talks about extrajudicial killings, but the screenplay is a letdown
• Directed by TJ Gnanavel, the film features Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan

Journalist-turned-director TJ Gnanavel proved his mettle with a hard-hitting second film, Jai Bhim, starring Suriya, Manikandan and Lijomol Jose. In Jai Bhim, despite having Suriya onboard, he played more of a supporting role to brilliant Manikandan and Lijomol Jose. His third film, Vettaiyan, features Rajinikanth, but the director promises to have a solid story that champions Thalaivar. Will Gnanavel be able to strike a balance? Let's find out!

Athiyan (Rajinikanth), Superintendent of Police, is all about successfully carrying out encounters against criminals. He believes that killing a person is justice for those who were wronged and is not willing to wait for the law to take its course. Sathyadev (Amitabh Bachchan), a retired judge, bats against extrajudicial killings. A police case and a major misjudgement by Athiyan bring him face-to-face with Sathyadev.

Director TJ Gnanavel's Vettaiyan has its heart in the right place - it highlights one of the important topics that are relevant in today's world. As Big B says in the film, 'encounter is never a solution'. It takes a gross misjudgement for Athiyan to realise it. And Big B's character is an antithesis of Athiyan's ideology. When people with such contrasting ideologies meet, it could give birth to a plethora of ideas that could be etched into a full-fledged film.

Sadly, this is where Vettaiyan fails. While TJ Gnanavel gets many moments right, the film's haphazard screenplay and predictability bring it down. The initial few minutes of the film are a perfect example of what bad editing can do to the film. The scenes, set in different areas, come one after another. Until it settles down to a linear format, the screenplay puts you off and reeks of immaturity.

Here's the trailer:

With Vettaiyan, Gnanavel tries his best to weave a story around a sensitive topic while paying homage to Rajinikanth and the Superstar that he is. While there's a solid story that talks about encounters and educational scams - at the core, it hardly matters as you see it coming from a mile ahead.

Vettaiyan also deals with the death of a sincere and honest teacher, Saranya (Dushara Vijayan). She suffers a tragic death at the hands of a man. But, her ordeal gets too graphic for its own good. Not only that, Gnanavel milks it to a greater extent by showing the visuals again and again. It'd have been better if he showed some restraint in showing Saranya's episode.

In the world of Vettaiyan, only Rajinikanth gets a well-defined character arc, and it is interesting to see him deal with the moral dilemma. Though the dialogue is flat, Rajinikanth, the actor, sells the character to you. Amitabh Bachchan, with his towering performance, gets a one-dimensional role. But, he does his best to keep the core story intact. After Rajinikanth, it is Fahadh Faasil, who takes the cake in a quirky role. He brings in the much-needed laughs in the story. He hypes up Rajinikanth and also gets his moments to shine.

However, the rest of the cast - Manju Warrier, Rana Daggubati, Ritika Singh and Abhirami - are given underwhelming characters. Composer Anirudh Ravichander's thumping music helps elevate the film whenever it starts to falter.

Vettaiyan is a film that will leave you unfulfilled. Courtesy: Uninteresting screenplay. It also makes you think what if the film featured an actor who doesn't come with the superstardom that Thalaivar Rajinikanth possesses?

2.5 out of 5 stars for Vettaiyan.