Velaikkaran Review: A Strong message is let down by a lengthy movie and preachy dialogues

Velaikkaran is one of those movies that created a lot of hype since the news about the movie started rolling in. There are a few reasons – one of them is the star cast.

We have Siva Karthikeyan (SK), and after Remo, he has set his standards (and expectations) higher.

The mere presence of Nayanthara, the lady superstar, in the movie has got her fans hyped up all the way.

Then we have the Thani Oruvan fame Mohan Raja directing the movie, and Anirudh doing the scores.

There was also a lot of promos done for the movie – the trailer, the lyric videos and the 5 second sting videos.

Did the movie live up to the expectations? Let’s see.

Velaikkaran has a strong, social-responsible plot. And you should not go with the usual expectation of comedy just because Siva Karthikeyan is present in the movie.

Mohan Raja has been very cautious in not letting the comedy diluting the script or the seriousness of the screenplay.

In that context, SK has done a great job – so far he had been a casual, funny guy on the screen. Even in Kaaki Sattai that had a serious message, his role had a lot of scope for comedy!

But not in Velaikkaran – Siva is all pretty serious and responsible!

But don’t be let down – you have Siva’s friends who give a few moments of relief.

Velaikkaran is all about how an average, normal man – a worker (Velaikkaran) gets to fight the malpractices of MNCs.

A lot of message comes out of the story, and sometimes it might feel overwhelming for the audience.

The first half, in particular, gets very much into the details and it takes a while for the story to build up.

The second half too takes its sweet time to get there. And so the movie ends up OKyish.

The overall screenplay of the movie is not at all pacy. The movie moves at a slow and steady pace while establishing its message strongly.

Siva Karthikeyan plays Arivu a totally different character in his career. He has proved himself pretty well that acting is not all about romancing and delivering comic timers.

This SK is so serious and socially responsible. His acting has improved a lot and he has done quite some homework for his role.

Nayanthara, on the other hand, doesn’t have much scope in the movie.

Her role is a good supporting one for sure but still, for the lady super star, we expected a lot more.

The romance track and the accompanying songs are also not quite essential for the movie. Nevertheless the lady super star doesn’t disappoint us.

She has fit herself seamlessly in the role and gives the needed charm whenever she appears on screen.

The movie has a strong star cast. And each one of them fit into their roles quite easily!

The movie deals with creating awareness about the corporate tricks and strongly registers the message that their tricks are very much comparable to that of the goons.

Certainly, Velaikkaran cannot be compared to Thani Oruvan. Due to the preachy dialogues, we get reminded of Bhoologam at times.

Velaikkaran definitely is a good attempt by Mohan Raja.

But the movie is a lot lengthier than it has to be.

The dialogues are lengthier as well and are often preachy. These two factors are a big let down to the movie as a whole.

If the movie had been presented in a crispier manner with “to the point” dialogues, Velaikkaran would have made the impact.