Annadurai

Vijay Antony films always used to be the average, above average films that had a peculiar theme. Even after being a very limited actor, the kind of success he achieved had a lot to do with these themes he chose. But over the years there was this inclination towards over the top heroics and Annadurai is that over ambitious film which has very disjoint writing with an insensitively elaborate plot.

Annadurai is the elder son in the family and he is a full time drunkard after he lost the girl he loved in an accident. His twin brother Thambidurai on the other hand is a successful teacher. The movie Annadurai shows us a phase in this family where circumstances cause a lot of issues to them and how Annadurai steps in to solve it.

There is this blatant worship of patriarchy along with hero worshipping that looks so preachy. The level of goodness and advices in the film might make you wonder whether Vijay Antony is planning to run for the election. It is only in the second half the film enters that crucial area and you still have to suffer this over dosage of sentiments and social messages. Some of the character transformations in the film are really difficult to digest.

Vijay Antony in my opinion is a very limited actor. When he tries to add swag or does a typical romance track, it sticks out and the actor lacks Grace in carrying such scenarios. The only difference he could bring in to his dual role was through the body language. Diana Champika is supposed to be that insensitive heroine for the sake of songs and Mahima and Jewel Mary are there just to adore the selflessness and character of a patriarchal hero. Vijaya Rangaraju whom Malayalies know as Rawther from Vietnam Colony is also there as an antagonist.

G Srinivasan isn’t making any impression with his first film. His packaging of the screenplay looks untidy. When you realize the central conflict of the film, you do tend to question the relevance of a lot of subplots we saw prior to that. And if a 128 minutes film have a considerable amount of not so necessary footage, you can sense how limited was the content here. The songs weren’t good and the picturization was also tacky. The other technical aspects weren’t that great, especially the cinematography which wasn’t even following the basic 180 degree rule in certain shots.

Annadurai is Vijay Antony’s attempt to sneak into that Sasikumar zone of “sacrificing” heroism. The melodrama and sickening amount of hero worshipping makes it an unexciting film.

Rating: 1.5/5