Rachakonda Siva Shankara Sastry

Vada Chennai opens with a murder, but we do not see the murder or the victim. Instead, we get a blood-stained sickle and a conversation between the murderers. These are Guna (Samuthirakani), Senthil (Kishore), Velu (Pavan) and Pazhani (Dheena). The guy they have killed is a big shot gangster and they discuss how they can now take his place. This is 1987. Cut to a year later, and we see that the four men have become rivals - Guna and Velu on one side and Senthil and Pazhani on the other. The action then shifts to 2000, when we are introduced to Anbu (Dhanush), who is remanded to prison for a minor scuffle with Guna's henchman Siva (Pavel Navageethan). To save himself from Guna's gang, which controls one block of the prison, Anbu gets closer to Senthil's gang, and even earns the trust of Senthil. Meanwhile, the narrative keeps shifting a few years back and forth - to 1991, when Anbu meets Padma (Aishwarya Rajesh), an intrepid local girl, who he falls in love with; to 1996, when Anbu accidentally commits a murder that makes him indebted to one of the gangsters; to 1987, when we get the story of Rajan (Ameer), a gangster and a do-gooder for his people, and Chandra (Andrea Jeremiah); and finally, to 2003, when Anbu is forced to stand up for his people and take on both Guna and Senthil. This sprawling nature of the narrative and the various events that impact the lives of the numerous characters make Vada Chennai truly an epic (Santhosh Narayanan's score is suitably grand). A murder attempt set against the backdrop of a carrom tournament in the prison where the action happens beneath a shamiana, and the murder of major character that is a brilliant play of tension and black comedy are superbly staged and are the film’s highlights. Vetri Maaran's rich detailing, be it the life in the prison or outside of it, helps us become a part of the story. The period setting is superbly evoked with the political events of the time (like MGR's and Rajiv Gandhi's deaths) providing the backdrop for the events to unfold. The art direction, costume and hair and makeup departments work in tandem to take us to the various time frames. Anbu is the protagonist, and gets the meatiest scenes. And Dhanush (a rare star-actor), in a role that has shades of the characters he played in Pudupettai and Aadukalam, gets some whistle-worthy masala moments, but like he did with Polladhavan, Vetri Maaran makes them organic and in character rather than give us empty heroism. The director ensures that the other characters have their moments. Ameer's Rajan appears for only a brief time, but he turns out to be the film's moral centre and beating heart. Aishwarya Rajesh makes Padma a lovable character despite the cuss words that pepper her lines, while Andrea, who decidedly looks like she doesn't belong in this setting, manages to make Chandra a strong character. That said the film does lack the hard-hitting quality and the moral weight of Vetri Maaran's previous film, Visaaranai. In the second half, we get a sub-plot about the politician-corporate nexus driving people away from their land (something that we have seen in Kaala and Merku Thodarchi Malai this year), but it isn't forceful enough - for now. The film is intended as a trilogy and this angle (which immediately recalls the controversy over the Salem green corridor) could play a bigger role in the subsequent films as this is what makes Anbu realise his calling. But this gives the director an opportunity to make a nod at an iconic dialogue from another gangster drama, Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan, when Anbu says, "Nammala kaapaathikaradhukku peru rowdyism-na naama rowdyism pannanum". And the plot points do have the elements that we associate with most gangster films - a reluctant hero, rivalry among gangsters, scheming politicians who use these gangsters for their own benefits, a femme fatale, violence that makes us flinch, expletives that shock - but the layered writing and the confident filmmaking ensure that these familiar aspects feel fresh Overall a it is a great cinematic experience. Rating 4/5

In Sandakozhi 2, the protagonist, Balu, and his father, Durai Ayya (Rajkiran) are often compared to a couple of lions, and the two characters do actually behave so. This is why when Pechi (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar) and the men in her family try to hunt down Anbu, the last male in a clan that they have sworn revenge against, they are unable to do anything. Lingusamy raises the stakes for Balu by having Ayya get injured grievously. But Ayya wants ஹையா son to ensure that Anbu is saved at all cost, and that the week-long thiruvizha that the seven villages of the place are conducting after a gap of seven years, remains peaceful. The broader set-up of Sandakozhi 2 – of a young man whose life is threatened during a festival – has shades of Vamsam (where it was the protagonist who had to save himself), and also calls back to the first Sandakozhi (where the villain wants to murder a young man at all cost). And director Lingusamy, for the most part, gives us a film that is as much a masala movie as the first film. We get a couple of good masala movie moments – one involves Balu tackling Pechi’s men and spoiling their attempt on Anbu’s life in the midst of the festival, while another involves a stunt scene involving Balu and Ayya that cross cuts between the action that is taking place in two different places. The romantic track, too, is entertaining as in the first film, with a female lead (Keerthy Suresh) who is as chirpy as the heroine of that film. The fate of the latter is something that the film doesn’t get into in detail – all we get is Ayya mentioning that something happened seven years ago that left Balu dejected. The set-up of the romantic track is also familiar – the girl mistakes Balu to be a driver in Ayya’s household and keeps ordering him about, which he is only happy to do. And Keerthy Suresh makes this character seem cute without turning her into yet another loosu ponnu heroine. But the problem with the film is that it lacks punch of the first film. The narrative is somewhat uneven as Lingusamy, for whom, the film is definitely a step up from Anjaan, doesn’t sustain the tension throughout, and going for unnecessary songs (especially in the second half) and scenes that are less impactful on screen than they must have been on paper. Pechi is a one-note character, and despite the presence that Varalaxmi lends to the role, she doesn’t appear as a serious threat. And the character of Anbu, is underwritten. Hari, who plays this role, is asked to act like a deer caught in the headlights in almost every scene. But the failures doesn’t derail the movie, which remains tolerable even in its less compelling portions. Overall It is a one time watch. Rating 3,5/5