REVIEW: VALIMAI (Tamil)

Producer- Boney Kapoor

Director- H. Vinoth

Star Cast- Ajith Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Kartikeya, Achyuth Kumar, Bani J

Genre- Thriller

Platform of Release- Theatrical

Rating- **1/2

All Action but lacks soul!

Jyothi Venkatesh

A super cop tries to track down the brain behind a series of robberies and murders, but things turn personal when his family becomes the crucial pawns in the criminal's game. This is in essence the one line plot of the film.

Chennai has become the hub for drugs, especially the one that comes from Colombia. A bike gang has suddenly cropped up in the Tamil Nadu city. It steals the drugs from Colombia whenever it gets docked in Chennai.

The starting scenes of Valimai which has also been dubbed and released in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, offer nothing by way of novelty as far as the plot is concerned as the film begins with a series of chain-snatching incidents and loot as well as smuggling committed by masked men on bikes in Chennai and the public is up in arms against the police force, who are clueless, with the exasperated Commissioner of Police (Selva) calling out to his forces for a super cop to prevent such crimes.

What is redeeming about the film is the natural acting style of the leading man Ajith who plays the role of the super cop Arjun Kumar, who is sent on a mission from Madurai where he is posted to Chennai where the crimes are happening in broad daylight to the chagrin of not only the common men but also the top cops.

The plot has nothing new to offer and you get to watch Arjun trying nonchalantly to save both his family and the city from a dangerous criminal played by the gang’s young mastermind Kartikeya Gummakonda and things turn into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, in which Arjun's family become pawns.

While Ajith is simply superb as the savior cop who sets out to save the city as well as his own family from the dreaded villains, Huma as Ajith’s cop colleague Sophia does not at all get a major role.

Forget about Huma wanting to leave a mark, the poor actress is not even romantically linked to Ajith who is shown as an aged bachelor with grey hair who is doted on by his mother, drunkard brother, and rogue gangster. Karthikeya is good though he lacks the menace which is required of him as the villain.

Tattoo sporting moll of the Gang leader Sarah played by Bani. J who reminds you of Radhika Apte has hardly any role worth the salt while Achyut shines as the drunkard brother Kundan.

Sumithra who was a yesteryear heroine is seen as the ever loving Manorama - style mother. Raj Ayyappan is good as the gangster brother while GM Sundar and Dinesh Prabhakar leave a good impact as the corrupt cops.

Almost throughout the length and breadth of the film, you are numbed by the swift bullet bike chases and the adrenalin raising action sequences which make you hold on to the edge of your seat.

What leaves a lot to be desired is the loophole ridden screenplay by director H Vinoth. The narrative is not at all simplified and it takes a whole lot of time to even understand and comprehend what exactly is happening.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is wasted as Valimai ideally should have been a song-less film. 'Mother Song' and 'Dekhi Lahu’ are forgettable. 'Whistle Theme’ is catchy but it is relegated to the background.

Sadly 'Dhana Dhani’ is missing in the Hindi version. Nirav Shah's cinematography is really breathtaking. Dhilip Subbarayan's action is grand and appealing. K Kadhir's art direction is first-rate.

Anu Vardhan's costumes are appealing. However, Vijay Velukutty's editing is poor as the film ought to have been slickly edited and made shorter by at least half an hour.