It’s been a while since we witnessed a warm family drama in Kollywood. The kind we watch in a Pandiraj movie is more mainstream with a lot of crowd with a deluge of emotions. However, an intense emotional relationship that is doused in pain yet speaks of tender and delicate knots has been long forgotten. With ‘Vaanam Kottatum’ that streak of drought has ended. Backed by a reputed production house, Madras Talkies, the movie has been directed by Mani Ratnam’s assistant, debutante Dhana.
‘Vaanam Kottatum’ had its plot set on a solid emotional platform. Velsamy (Balaji Sakthivel) who is about to contest in the local body election is attacked by his opponents. Though Velsamy gets away alive, Velsamy’s younger sibling Bose (Sarathkumar) kills his brother’s detractors and lands up in jail.
His kids (Vikram Prabhu and Aishwarya Rajesh) estrange him as their father's deed leaves deep scars on them as children. However, Bose’s wife (Radhika) tries to strike a balance between visiting her husband in jail and bringing up her kids with hardly any support. The rest of the movie is about the delicate threads that test their bond when Bose gets released from prison and rejoins his family.
The casting, especially the lead cast, was an excellent choice. After ‘Kumki’, Vikram Prabhu could be seen in a relevant role where he has shown a few glimpses of performance. For Sarathkumar too it has been a while since he has played anything solid. His character undergoes a natural arc from a ruffian who fights to withhold his pride to a doting father yearning for love. Radhika, as always was in her sublime form. Though her southern accent was not so convincing, she more than made up for it with her performance by blending effortlessly into the role.
Aishwarya Rajesh has done another role as a sister and was cute and energetic. Madonna Sebastian, though had a very limited scope, utilized her space well with her natural charm and sophistication. Shanthanu and Amithash were just there as fillers and didn’t have much to do except for forming an insignificant romantic triangle with Aishwarya Rajesh. The pick of the lot among the actors was director Balaji Sakthivel. As the rustic and crude villager from the south, he was a natural with the appearance and accent. It was a brilliant piece of casting.
Sid Sriram, the music director, and singer could be heard crooning half the time on screen, especially ‘Kannu Thangam Rasathi...’ gets played numerous times that the song loses its charm after a while. Most of the other songs like ‘Yaarumilla Kaattukkulle Naan thaan Raja’ were used with montages and augured well for the proceedings. The background score was not up to the mark as certain portions were not in sync and the emotions didn’t seem to come through.
The movie’s predictability, ordinary dialogues and unnecessary subplots (especially the weird Nandha as a villain) pulled the movie from being declared as a great watch! ‘Vaanam Kottatum’ is a definite one-time watch that is slowly but surely attracting family audiences as it blends emotion with a little fun and action. This concoction has been long forgotten in Kollywood. That, in my opinion, is a good enough reason to watch this movie!
Verdict: 2.75 / 5
Rating: Above Average!
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