Vivegam movie review: It is Ajith’s show all the way. His look and onscreen charisma help audience disregard serious logical follies in the writing.
Vivegam movie cast: Ajith, Kajal Aggarwal, Akshara Haasan, Vivek Oberoi
Vivegam movie director: Siva
Vivegam movie rating: 3 stars
Director Siva is the greatest fan of Thala Ajith. Nobody can match him when it comes to admiring Ajith and his looks. So much so that he has made a film called Vivegam spending more than Rs 100 crore. The film opens with highly-skilled assassin Ajay Kumar (Ajith) leading a one-man mission to secure a device that contains details of activating a nuclear weapon. He worms into the enemy lines and wreaks havoc.
At the end of the first action sequence, before jumping off the iconic Contra Dam, Ajay mouths the popular punchline – “Never ever, give up.” Just when his enemies think that they have got him boxed up, he pulls off something impossible and completes the mission successfully. That is the gist of the film. Vivegam is all about the exploits of one man, who can never be beaten.
Ajay is a flawless character and he is a master at many things. Be it searching and killing his targets, riding cars and bikes, or helping his wife with cooking in her restaurant, you name it. An exemplary human being that you cannot help but adore him. From the beginning to the end, Siva has been consistent in playing up all the goodness in Ajay, which after some time makes you snooze. About 30 minutes into the film, it feels like, “yes, yes we understand he is a deity in human form. Can we please get to the story already?”
Ajay may be a killer but he has a heart full of love and trust for his wife and friends. And that’s the main reason for his downfall. While he can read his targets if they are lying or not, he cannot identify the backstabbers in his team masquerading as friends.
Aryan Singha (Vivek Oberoi) is Ajay’s teammate but more than that he is Ajay’s brother from another mother. At least, until he decided to empty his gun into Ajay’s back. Both are top officials of an international spy agency. Let’s say it is a conglomerate of spy agencies of the world. Ajay is tasked with a mission to find hacker Natasha, who has a new face after undergoing a facial surgery. She has the keys to activate nuclear weapons that can cause artificial earthquakes in any place on earth.
Natasha (Akshara Haasan) gets a subtle but more interesting introduction in the film. She carries the information worth billions of dollars in two hard disks. And it has nearly become impossible for operatives to track and nab her. Well, as we know Ajay is the right man for an impossible task, he finds her and soon forges an intimate bonding with her. And things go haywire as Ajay finds out he just got played.
Aryan turns against him. It was only a matter of time, one could have guessed it. Ajay now rises from the ashes and seeks retribution against those who wronged him.
Ajay has a beautiful wife, Yazhini Kumar (Kajal Aggarwal). Yazhini is a very dutiful wife, who understands her husband’s life is always on the line. And keeps calling him to know his well-being. And Ajay never misses answering her calls, even in a high-speed chase. Before the end of the first part, Ajay answers Yazhini’s phone when he is hanging on to a branch of a tree as he is being fired at by his new enemies. He promises her that he will return to her alive. So, he does. It’s actually funny when you come to think of it. No matter who you are or what situation you are in, you must answer the phone when your wife calls. Period. Even when you are dying. Period.
Ajay gets shot multiple times in the back. But, instead of urgently seeking the emergency medical help, he goes on doing high-intensity workouts on the snowy mountains to adrenaline pumping ‘Thala Viduthalai’ track in preparation to fight his enemies. How he survived the bullet wounds is never explained.
Vivek falls short of invoking any feelings in the audience. He backstabs his close friend and tries to bomb India. But, still, we don’t hate him because he is always praising Ajay and how. Even when he is defeated again and again, instead of ruing over his failure, he ends up admiring Ajay. And that makes his character completely unrealistic.
It is Ajith’s show all the way. His look and onscreen charisma help audience disregard serious logical follies in the writing. As the titles roll off at the end of the film, the audience is shown the behind-the-scenes videos shot during the action sequences. And one can see the effort that has gone into making this fancy film. Ajith and Siva get full marks for their efforts.
Vivegam has good music, good visuals, high-voltage action sequences, picturesque landscapes and beautiful faces. Also add heartwarming moments between the characters of Ajith and Kajal to the list. If you can overlook adulation, irrelevant emotions and unfounded logic, Vivegam is a good popcorn entertainer.
