Viruman

The B and C center-oriented template village drama seems like a go-to option for actors in the Tamil industry to maintain a fan base on a larger scale. Almost every actor has opted for such stories, some of which have got immense commercial success. Viruman, starring Karthi, is the actor’s new try at the village drama after a successful outing with Kadaikutty Singam. And just like any other movie in this genre, this one is also just a routine flick with set ingredients that never amuses you.

Our title protagonist Viruman lives with his uncle. His three brothers are staying with his father, Muniyandi, whom Viruman holds accountable for the death of his mother. Viruman always hated his father and did everything to agitate Muniyandi. The evolution of this father-son rivalry with time is what we witness in Viruman.

The formula here is very simple. First, establish the conflict in a very unsubtle way. Then you follow it up with a hero introduction scene. After that, one dance number will be there. And it will be followed by the introduction of a series of villains. Again a few fights and then some family backstabbing will give the hero a chance to feel great about himself. Oh yes. There is a heroine who falls for the hero when she knows what the hero did to fulfill her wish. In the film’s climax, when Prakash Raj’s character behaves in a suicidal way, the hero slaps him for being over dramatic. Everyone in the audience had a good laugh seeing that scene. Maybe all of them wanted to beat some of those characters for being overly sentimental.

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Muthaiah’s scripting pattern is very simple, and anyone who has seen a whole bunch of rural dramas can easily pen something like this. The most bizarre part is how he makes some characters say certain lines. To make Muniyandi a man who believes money is everything, Muthaiah creates a scene where the doctor tells him both his kidneys are damaged. And the guy casually says, just replace it; I have a lot of cash. In the movie, he is a Tahsildar. A nuanced drama presentation is clearly not a tool in Muthaiah’s scripting mechanism. The song placement is awkward, and most of them from Yuvan Shankar Raja are underwhelming. The music that comes when the title is shown reminded me of Vaathi Raid.

Karthi knows which set of expressions to use to get the pitch of this character and uses them effectively. Prakash Raj struggles to prevent his poorly written character from becoming a caricature. Aditi Shankar, who makes her acting debut with this movie, has the screen presence and energy. Rajkiran is once again the righteous old man. Soori is the comic relief nobody asked for. Saranya Ponvannan, RK Suresh, Karunas, GM Sundar, etc., are the other popular names in the cast.

At a time when a movie like Vikram is becoming an industry hit in Tamilnadu, it baffles me how actors and filmmakers are underestimating the B and C center audiences as people with outdated taste. Viruman is a 150 minutes long big-budget daily soap with all kinds of Paasam and sacrifices one can squeeze into one script.