Movie: Vivekam
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Sathya Jyothi
Cast: Ajith Kumar, Kajal Agarwal, Vivek Oberoi, Akshara Haasan, Karunakaran and others
Story: Siva and Aadhi Narayana
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Cinematography: Vetri
Editing: Ruben
Action stunts: Siva
Producers: Sendhil Thyagarajan, Arjun Thyagarajan
Screenplay and direction: Siva
Release date: August 24, 2017
Ajith Kumar has huge mass fan following in Tamil Nadu and he had earlier teamed with director Siva for Veeram and Vedhalam. Both the films had been big hits in Tamil and when Vivegam was announced it created equally huge hype.
Also, the trailer revealed that it was thriller and this upped the curiosity element of the Ajith-starrer. So, let's see if the film lives up to the expectations...
Story:
Ajith Kumar (AK) is an agent working for a counter terrorism agency. The agency is in Serbia. He is wanted by 80 countries and many agencies as he is suspected to have gone rogue, misusing his power.
His former friends in the agency headed by Aryan (Vivek Oberoi) are now hunting for him. In turn, Ajith Kumar is after people who betrayed him when he was on a mission to track Natasha (Akshara).
How AK finds his betrayers and also saves his wife Hasini (Kajal) is the rest of the story.
Artistes’ Performances:
Ajith in the role of an agent is in top form. He has done some high-octane action sequences terrifically. Indeed it is his show all the way. Some dialogues seem to be aimed to please his Tamil fans, but they don't make much sense in Telugu.
Vivek Oberoi as villain is weak. He just stands in a glass-panelled hall and keeps talking in a manner that builds hype around Ajith's persona.
Kajal Agarwal as Ajith's wife is good. Akshara Haasan appears in a brief role.
Technical Excellence:
Primarily the film is an attempt at showcasing the capabilities of the director in making a slick action flick.
The cinematography, action stunts and production qualities are on par with international films. The film is surely superior in terms of technical and production values.
Cinematography by Vetri is top-class. Action stunts choreographed by the director himself are terrific. But the music by Anirudh is a total letdown. His much-hyped songs lack the impact in the film.
Highlights:
Technical values
Production values
Ajith Kumar
Drawback:
Silly storyline
Dull screenplay
Amalgam of Hollywood action flicks
No entertainment
Non-stop action
Boring narration
Analysis:
From Hollywood movies like "Bourne Identity", "Taken" to TV series "Person Of Interest", many elements and episodes seem to have been 'inspired' to present Ajith as an international agent, to please his fans.
While the idea must have looked superb on paper, it does not translate on the screen and the screenplay is a total mess, with no scene interesting enough to hold the audiences' interest.
The story is set somewhere in Europe where an Indian agent is working on an international mission. The entire film then goes revealing one action episode after the other.
The cat and mouse games and the agent following his target is similar to umpteen numbers of Hollywood movies.
When we are not seeing action stunts, the story cuts to Ajith and Kajal's drama -- husband and wife's mushy track. Although Kajal is beautiful, the pair lacks chemistry and the scenes between them are too old-fashioned.
The first half is boring and post-interval the movie slips into a yawn fest. The action pieces, without doubt, are shot richly and camerawork is of high standards, but beneath the glitz there is nothing that lets the audience connect with the movie.
Nearly 45 minutes are wasted in showing Ajith tracking down Natasha, played by Akshara Haasan. While the build up around this episode is quite interesting, when Akshara appears on screen, the suspense goes bust. Though Akshara in her debut down south is okay, her character is much ado about nothing.
Ajith has proved that he can perform action stunts in a terrific manner. Well, he is a feast for the eyes if one is a hardcore fan. As for others, the thriller does not quite make the cut.
On the whole, "Vivekam" is all about showing off technical glitz and slick action but it doesn't offer anything beyond that. Mostly one gets bored after a point. A pointless spy thriller.
Bottom-line: Slick, but Boring