In Tamil movies, we usually find that comedy and romance summed up with action and adventure takes the front seat. Velaikkaran, a Tamil film written by Mohan Raja and N. Baskaran, produced by R.D.Raja and directed by Mohan Raja was released on the 22nd of December, 2017. It is a film of genre social action thriller which is a bit out of track from the usual Tamil films.
The films cast Shivakarthikeyan as Arivu, Fahadh Faasil as Adhiban Madhav, Nayanthara as Mrinalini, Prakash Raj as Kasi and Sneha as Kasthuri in the lead roles. Apart from these talented faces, there are a few more supporting actors in the film namely R.J.Balaji, Satish, Robo Shankar and many others. The film has been made more beautiful and attractive with the music which has been composed by Anirudh Ravichandar. The movie has been cinematographed by Ramji which can be undoubtedly be called flawless. Velaikkaran is a film of budget 35 crores and it has been released in India and its running time is 160 minutes.
The film was announced in December 2016 and after a prolonged period of selection of the entire cast and crew, the shooting for the film began on 11th January 2017. The film did not get any title until then and received a title only in February 2017.
The beginning of the film is in such a way which gives it a lovely feel. It attracts the audience with its lovely shots of haves and have-nots which has been voiced over by director Mohan Raja. The viewers then find the film shifting to a slum area which is densely populated with about hundred families who earn their living by working for Kasi, a local goon who feared than being respected. Arivu, on the other hand, has a great ambition of giving the people of his slum a better life by freeing them from the clutches of Kasi. This is so because he finds that all the people who could earn in an honest manner were being exploited badly by the local powers. He tries a little by stepping into the world outside his slum and it was then when he realized that people are willfully being indulged in the evil activities.
Velaikkaran is a movie which would prick the conscience of people who believe in walking through the path of honesty and reality. It is based on morality and hits people hard on their morals to some extent. Who would like to work somewhere willingly knowing that the work is dangerous and life-threatening to everyone? Director Mohan Raja addresses this thoughtful question and throws an impact on the lives of many people. However, the path which he uses in making the people aware is a lengthy one and stretched the movie unnecessarily for a long time.
Velaikkaran is a one-time watch movie in which the director has put in a lot of effort through his research work on the current scenario of the people. The lead actor Shivakarthikeyan proves himself to be a great actor and raises his acting skills to a higher level. He shatters his so-called tag of a comedian and has been so far his best performance as we see him step out of his comfort zone. All the other actors have performed equally well.