Movie Review
This film is adapted from a short story called Thunaivan written by B Jeyamohan and both Jeyamohan and Vetrimaaran have worked together on the script.
A police camp headed by Raghavendar (Chethan) is set up there to nab the key leaders of a terrorist outfit called Makkal Padai (People’s Army) led by one Vaathiar aka Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi).
Makkal Padai has been fighting police violence for many years and their latest act was detonating bombs on a train bridge which killed 25 people and injured many others. Now the politicians have contracted foreign companies for mining in the forest area and Makkal Padai has taken it as the last cause. As Raghavendar fails, senior cop Sunil Menon (Gautham Vasudev Menon) comes in as the head of the Ghosthunt operation.
Kumaresan tells the story of what happened in his letters to his mother, and that’s how we learn what happened. He joins Company E as a jeep driver and is tasked with delivering food to all the policemen stationed at the check posts in the forest. She refuses to apologize to Raghavendar and that’s how we learn how strong she is when it comes to her principles and beliefs. It is then that she also meets Paapa (Bhavani Sre) and an unexpected romance begins.
At the beginning you might think that this movie is a cop drama like Vetrimaara’s previous movie Visaranai but it is not. It’s a completely different story under different circumstances. Like Visaranai, Viduthalai also shows police brutality and that cops are “bad”, but for very different reasons.
The way the director tells the story seems simple – good men and bad men, but there are many layers that emerge as the film progresses – politicians and corporate relationships, politicians and how they shape social narratives, the police and their brutal behavior. , caste politics, a seemingly irresistible romance.
Vetrimaara’s ability to weave a compelling story is well known, but his choice of Soori as the lead would surprise many. The highlight of this movie is Soori as she has given a perfect performance as Kumaresan.
How Kumaresa, and by extension Soori, matures through the film is a compelling watch and you cheer for the character as well as the actor. Soori carries this film on her shoulders not only with her acting but also with her voice. Bhavani Sre should also be appreciated for her good work like Paapa and Chethan. Ilaiyaraaja’s background score was decent for the film but his songs could have been better.
Viduthalai (Freedom) is a must watch as it offers a new cinematic perspective of Vetrimaaran and especially as Soori is outstanding.
