Vellai Pookal Review: A Crisp, Engaging, Well-Made Whodunit Thriller

For a whodunit thriller, screenplay and cast are two crucial elements.

Debutant director Vivek has checked these two boxes perfectly.

Casting a veteran comedy actor like Vivek for a serious investigative character takes a lot of guts.

Director Vivek has boldly taken that step and that gives the movie a unique feel.

Story

We have Rudhran (Vivek) who is a retired cop with the police instincts intact.

He goes to the US to spend his retired life with his son Ajay (Dev) and American daughter-in-law (Paige Henderson), whom he doesn’t like much.

US life is not very welcoming to Rudhran and he finds it odd and very quiet.

He finds a friend, Bharathi (Charlie) and the two get along.

Meanwhile, even though he is retired, Rudhran has his regular investigative habits.

He happens to smell something fishy when the neighbours go missing.

We also have a side track where a minor girl is abused by her own dad.

When Rudhran starts to investigate it also affects him personally.

How he solves the mystery forms the story.

Screenplay

The movie starts off with a tone that gives us no clue about whether the movie will be engaging or not.

It takes a while for the pace to pick up.

Even after the investigation picks up, the pace could have been better.

In particular, though the lengthy dialogues between Vivek and Charlie provoke thoughts, they create drag.

Having said that, the investigations and how the knots are undone are carried over in a wonderful pace.

There are ample twists and turns in the screenplay that keeps us engaged. There is also a twist in the climax.

Acting by cast

Vivek has done a great job in playing a serious role.

There are also a few “lite” moments where the actor mouths funny, thoughtful dialogues without disturbing the serious tone of the movie.

Charlie perfectly fits in the role of a sidekick and aptly compromises Vivek with his neat performance.

Dev delivers a neat performance as the NRI son, without the conventional flavor of such a character.

Other artists do their job well without playing awkward.

Technicals

The movie has a wonderful cinematography to compromise its tone.

The camera angles, colors and the shot placements give the movie a Hollywood feel in many scenes.

Cinematography also plays a crucial role in elevating the suspense factor of the movie.

Another great plus is the BGM that lifts up the mood.

Vellai Pookal: Final Verdict

Surprisingly, Vellai Pookal turns out to be an engaging thriller. There are a few minuses here and there and the screenplay drags too.

But, the way the investigation is carried out and how cleverly Rudhran unties the knots in the investigation keeps us engaged.

The movie is also pretty clean and can be watched with family.

Vellai Pookal is definitely well made and a must watch!