"Veyil" shines

S pictures "Veyil" (Tamil) is written and directed by G Vasanthabalan and stars Pashupathy, Bharath, Bhavana, Shriya Reddy and Priyanka.

Veyil is the story of Murugeshan (Pashupathy), the eldest son of a butcher in Virudhunagar. As a kid, he and his brother Kathir (Bharath) are upto all sorts of mischief which includes bunking classes and watching MGR movies at the local cinema. His father catches Murugeshan red handed and punishes him. Humiliated at the treatment meted out to him by his father, Murugeshan flees with some money and his mother's ornaments. He finally ends up in a theatre at another village doing sundry jobs and grows up to become the operator there. He falls in love with Thangam (Priyanka) who is the neighbouring tea shop owner's daughter. All is not well with their love story and consequent to parental opposition and some violence, it ends with the tragic suicide of Thangam.

Years later with the advent of satellite television and pirated CD's, the theatre closes down and Murugeshan has no other go but to return to his native. His father turns him down, but he is accepted and taken home by Kathir who is now a successful advertising company owner. Murugeshan is largely ignored by his family now consisiting of his 2 younger sisters also who shower all their attention on the younger and successful Kathir. The only solace for Murugeshan is his childhood friend, Pandiyammal (Shriya Reddy) with whom he shares his thoughts and sorrows.

Trouble soon erupts in the the family when Kathir is attacked by his business rivals and the violence that follows ends in the death of Murugeshan at which juncture his worth is realised by the entire family.

G. Vasanthabalan deserves all the credit for painting a true to life picture of Virudhunagar. The characters are realistic and the dialogues are natural. The casting is apt. Except for the lead players, it looks like all the other actors have been drawn from the locality itself, including the child artistes who are nothing short of brilliant.

The cinematography is fabulous, capturing the dry, rustic charm of Virudhunagar. Editing is crisp, Art Direction is very natural and lends authenticity to the narration. Debutante G V Prakash Kumar scores as the Music director. The title track Veyilodu vilayaadi (sung passionately by Kailash Kher and Jassie Gift) and the soulful Urukuthe deserve special mention.

Bhavana plays the typical tamil film heroine and her presence adds lightness to an otherwise serious film. Shriya Reddy plays a delightful cameo. Debutante Priyanka charms as Thangam. Bharath is adequate as Kathir. But, it is Pashupathy who has the cake, cream and cherry. He literally lives as Murugeshan. His voice modulation and dialogue delivery is indeed commendable and this is definitely an award worthy performance from the actor. Hope Veyil gives Pashupathy more opportunities than just limiting himself to the archetypal screen villain.

Director Shankar tastes success the third time as a producer following Kaadhal and Imsai Arasan 23 aam Pulikesi. Veyil, apparently has been selected for screening at the Cannes and is the first Tamil film to be screened there. That more than signifies how well made the movie is.