Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006) User Reviews

Tamil Cinema Reaching new heights .. Bollywood you got so much to learn from this film

[scorpion83 · 8/10 · 25 August 2006]

First of let me talk about the positives in this movie : The movie was totally awesome ... technically .. Its a very different approach followed by the director .. We could definitely say with pride that Gautam has taken Indian cinema to new heights ... ! The story narration was beautiful though it did not have a very strong plot ... Thanks to Hollywood ... Tamil Cinema is reaching new dimensions ... Especially the opening 15 minutes and the scene where the killer talks with Kamal in midst of vendetta .. Just too good ! Kudos to the director .. the real hero ! Though he is not commendable in the plot, as in Kaakha Kaakha, he wanted to prove a point here ... and he does it in style ... Cheers Last but not the least ... The pride of Indian cinema .. Dr Kamal Haasan .... Does a powerful role with so much of ease ... Yet another movie of his to be remembered ..

Now coming to the negatives: Though the director succeeds in a certain way .. he lets you down at certain scenes which are so Indian ... Especially.. When the hero does things out of nowhere and categorizes them as "Raghavan Instincts" .. the scene where the killers escape from the airport .. and the usual coincidence where the killers meets the hero and his girl within minutes he reaches a new city ..

Our heroes which includes Kamal .. For their lack of body maintenance .. (Got to reduce the protruding tummy) Though these are negatives, they just go vanishing because of the style in which things are told ! In a nut shell .. Its a delight to watch this film !

A racy thriller with lots of style and violence; but with little depth in the story

[mathew-magimaidoss · 7/10 · 5 September 2006]

Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu ("hunt and play", more approriate to say "hunting game") is Gautham Menon's second venture into a cops life. This time a widowed DCP Raghavan (Kamal Hassan) hunts for "a" serial killer who has murdered his mentor Arkoiaraj's (Prakashraj) daughter first (in India) and, then later him and his wife (in US).

The story has all the qualities for a good thriller and to a certain extent engages the attention of the audience till the end. The movie contains a fair amount of violence, blood and gory scenes. So, if you do not like it, just stay away. After the first half, the story develops in a predictable style. So the key is that watch Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, experience the thrill and, then forget about it (like any other thriller book).

As expected, Kamal Hassan gives a first rate acting performance which glues the audience attention to the screen. I like Kamal's acting but on a second thought, I feel that the character Raghavan did not really needed Kamal Hassan. In other words, it could have been played by another decent actor, for instance Surya and, same effects could have been produced. Balaji does a good job as the serial killer Amudhan. At the end of the movie, you will come to hate as well as fear him. Jyotika has done well with in the given amount of screen time. I also feel that the movie could have been done without Jyotika's character. Kamalinee Mukherjee and Prakash Raj have a short screen presence but leave a good impression.

Gautham's direction is crispy and good. With in a short space of time in the beginning, he creates the tough cop character Ragahavan. The script is good. Harris Jayaraj's music is OK. Songs are hummable and foot tapping. There is not much to say about the back ground score.

The movie has its share of "flaws". For instance,

(a) When Raghavan and his US cop partner zero onto a "suspect" Amudhan's companion, the first alert should have gone to all the ports to contain them inside US. Instead the cops go and knock on the doors of the "suspect" (psycho) without even having a backup plan.

(b) In the era of fast digital communication, it is little bit difficult to digest that the news about the serial killers reach the Indian port authorities late (inspite of some US citizens being killed). Also, given that the travel time between New York to Mumbai can easily cross 15 hrs and, the existence of numerous channels through which the information could be sent and criminal being apprehended.

(c) The serial killers kill US citizens including some police authorities. US does not even sends an investigating team to India.

(d) Amuthan keeps claiming he is a university rank holder (a brilliant and intelligent guy) but some of the events does not fit into the character. For instance, when they come to know about the police surveillance they should have vacated their usual residence.

The primary reason for these flaws is that the first half of the story is shown through the eyes of an investigating police officer and, the second half is shown through the eyes of serial killer.

Eventually what happened in the second half of the movie is that the director ended up spending time creating the fearsome serial killers character (also resulting in some more violent and gory scenes) and, Kamal spending rest of the movie running around the trees with Jyotika and ending up as the usual villain bashing hero cop. Thus, second half becomes very predictable.

Instead the character of the serial killers could have been developed through the investigation of cop, thus, keeping the audience more on the edge of seat and guessing. This would have meant that Raghavan doing some really good investigative cop work.

Nevertheless, "Vettiyadu Villaiyadu" is worth watching once at least for Kamal.

A typical Gautham thriller

[sushenv · 7/10 · 17 September 2006]

Though this is only the second movie of Gautham, his unique way of presenting can be noticed. The thrill,excitement,scenes etc... are somewhat similar to its predecessor Kaakha Kaakha. The last scene,encounter shoots and the complete crew is the same as KK. Few new faces have been introduced in this film and all have acted splendidly. It is another episode in police life where Raghavan(Kamal Haasan),DCP investigates a murder case involving a serial killer. The hunt for the serial killer leads him to New York where there are some twists and surprises. It is hard to find any goofs in this film though I noticed two. The movie is lightning fast and I bet none would have seen their watch while watching the film. Though everything is good about this movie, Gautham should have thought of replacing few artists to avoid monotony. The reason for few people disliking the movie is it bears the same storyline and if it continues, the next film might be tragic! This movie is a must watch if you like Action and Music.

A great thriller movie

[srinisankar · 10/10 · 26 August 2006]

Very solid technical details. The way new york pictured is simple superb. Hats off to Ravi Varman for his cinematography. This movie is not inferior to any Hollywood one. Tamil movies are catching up with them. Great direction by Gautham. Kamal should shed some weight and continue his world class acting. The matured romance between Kamal and Jyothika needs a special mention. Too bad the other heroine Kamalini Mukherjee didn't get much attention. Absolutely no comedy sequences at all in this thriller. Thats a great attempt by the director in these times when comedy is given lots of importance in Tamil movies. Background score by Harris Jayaraj is simply superb. World class.

Movielover's treat! a must watch! awesome! Kamalji does it again!

[Abhiman · 10/10 · 29 August 2006]

What do I say ... To start with Kamalji is in it!! and boy has he done a good job!!! the movie is technically brilliant!! well written,edited,shot and executed!! u couldn't ask for more!! kudos to Gautam on a fantastic job ..though I've seen several English serial killer movies , this one is awesome for a Tamil movie ... truly Kamal is India's Al Pacino and Gautam is Michael Mann in the making !!! Credit goes to the lyricist and music director for good songs!!

All in all a racy thriller with all the ingredients to watch it over n over ....

P.S: i have already seen it thrice in the theaters in its first four days and I cant wait to watch it again!!

Awesome Flick

[venkatraman_r_76 · 8/10 · 23 August 2006]

After a decade, Kamal returns as a police office in this new high paced thriller. The movie has crossed really hard hassles until it started blasting on the silver screen and took the audience on a whirl.

With much expectations set amongst all Kamal Haasan's fans - me being one among them, definitely we were not left unsatisfied.

All songs have been picturised very well especially the love song at Manhattan - showcasing the complete day cycle.

A complete treat for any action lover.

Another feather on Kamal's cap.

• Venkat.

VV - The Definitive Review

[leaders_head · 8/10 · 3 September 2006]

Expectations were between mediocre and high after viewing Minnale (which was good) and Kaake Kaake (which was bad although many don't think so). This movie is highly reflective of the amount of experience that Gautham Menon has gathered from his past projects, which he uses to bring a highly polished and refined viewing experience with perhaps a little excess of shock value. But from this trend, he is no doubt going to be one of the best directors/writers in the Indian cinema.

VV starts off with the line "Another day in a police officers life" and you thus expect it to be some clichéd formula of the tough cop chasing the local rowdies as usual. Indeed, thats how the first few minutes of the movie are - with Kamal beating up some local thugs with style. His acting and expression however, give the same old scenes a fresh feel. After that is the excellent title song ironically titled Kaarka Kaarka, which kind feels ripped off but is still excellent when used in the movie and the action scenes. It fits in perfectly.

You would probably imagine that this movie is a Kaaka Kaaka clone/money-spinner with a better actor and indeed, there is a strong resemblance to that movie in many scenes. But a high degree of polishing, refinement and a better cast make it a completely different experience. Needless to say, Kamal Hassan's acting is as excellent as expected.

The first part of this movie starts off as a murder mystery and a series of gory, and I mean extremely gory by Indian movie standards, murders and an investigation into this, despite no clues about the possible suspects. Then all of a sudden, Prakash Raj (who I am becoming less and less a fan of due to his banal and repetitive acting style) out of the blue, remembers an incident about the suspects and these guys indeed turn out to be the villains at the end. This is the first major flaw in storytelling. The only excuse used here was that the Police never collected any details about these guys and hence, are now back to square one. You've all probably seen similar Murder mysteries in Hollywood but nothing similar can easily be found in Indian Cinema.

Instead of keeping the murder mystery till the very end with a "whodunit?" flavor and the villain turning out to be the "least expected" guy, Gautham has tried an alternative approach and the bad guys are quickly introduced before the second half of the movie. Most people complain that the second half of the movie really dragged. While the villains turned out to be excellent and disturbing actors in their roles, they dominate and escape Kamal Hassan and the Police a bit too frequently and too easily and that also feels a bit dumb.

Romance is thrown in as expected and fills gaps here and there. Due to high degree of polishing, it is somewhat better than whats seen in most other Tamil Movies. It is highly predictable that jyothika would get kidnapped by the villains and thats exactly what happens. To pursue his romantic life in the middle of a crisis and in full exposure of the bad guys, is once again devoid of any logic which further weakens the second half. The latter could have used some better writing, devoid of any romance and used some twists and more action. The ending is quite sudden and disappointing and there's no great twist.

This movie is much more than "Another day in the life of...." but falls short of logic in a few scenes and eventually gets predictable. The gore is very realistic and used to full effect although some people may end up being more disturbed rather than appreciative. Foul language (for realism's sake) is also extensive in this movie. The screenplay is brilliant as is the cinematography. The New York sequences have been brilliantly done and that scene with the bodies in New York was truly unbelievably well done.

By both Tamil and Indian Cinema standards, it could very well be a landmark film and a ground breaker but it is not without many flaws. For a Tamil movie with absolutely no comedy or comic relief, it keeps you engrossed till the very end. Perhaps Gautham should team up with Shankar in the future to make an explosive combination of Gautham's realism plus Shankar's creativity.

The U/A rating of VV is not justified through extensive gore, foul language and many scenes of rape. This may attract families to the cinema and impressionable little kids may get disturbed. Were the CBFC on crack as usual?

CAN'T RATE THIS MOVIE BELOW 10

[mvstmt · 23 May 2020]

ONE OF THE MOST STYLISH POLICE MOVIE IN TAMIL I HAVE EVER SEEN. GVM'S DIRECTION, KAMAL'S STYLE ,JOTHIKA'S ROMANCE AND MANY MORE TO WATCH IN THIS MOVIE. THIS FILM HAD THE BEST INTRODUCTION SCENE FOR A HERO IN A POLICE MOVIE.

Huge technical Delight ! ! !!

[rajesh-scorpi · 7/10 · 2 September 2006]

First of all, lemme say a few words abt the director.. Gautham 's first film is 'Minnale' , a nice romantic flick, which's been a trend setter for many films, since today ! ! He directed the same movie in Hindi also ('RHTDM').. Then, he did 'Kaakka Kaakka', again a real mind blaster and one of the superb cop movies in Tamil, ever made! ! He again, did it in Telugu and then has directed this movie.

I personally think Kamal Hassan's 'Kurudhippunal' is the greatest cop film ever made in Tamil ! ! Now, He joins hands with Gautham for this flick, and this raised expectations all through the Tamil film Industry..

This movie's been released after facing a truckload of problems .. . A highly expected movie too in Tamil nadu... Has some 'firsts' associated with it..Combines the skills of Gautham for the first time with Kamal Hassan. . . Harris Jeyaraj too joins Kamal for the first time....

Now, to be frank , I really loved it just for it's technical brilliance alone. . Combine with it the apt screenplay and some good acting... U get 'Vettaiyadu Vilayadu' ! ! The camera work is stunning, to say the least ! ! ! No Tamil film 's captured the beauty of America like this one, before. . . Also, the editing ! ! It's clean and crisp . . . Kamal too has done a nice piece of acting. The only point to say is that He spoils some scenes with his overacting, a factor we see regularly in his films , of late. Also, I would like to say something about his freaky English accent ! ! As far as I know, He thinks he 's a real English pundit in his mind, and uses a totally freakish accent which I think only he speaks in the entire universe ! ! God ! He 's doing this regularly in his films where there comes a situation when he has to say a few words in English.. Remember the train sequence in 'Guru' where he talks to a foreign lady ? I felt like laughing thru' my ass when I saw that. Since then , he uses the same kinda language in all his films ! ! Here too he does that in perfect style (???!!!!) and tickles the audience.. I think this really makes up for the fact that there is no comedy in this movie ! !

Jyothika has done a decent piece,as like kaakka kaakka. Prakash raj comes for some scenes, and captures our mind where he cries for his daughter's death .

The huge negative point in this movie, as far as I'm concerned, is the music and the songs ! ! This flick's been a nice movie sans songs.. They really tamper the speed of the movie. Especially, the 'sikki mukki neruppe' song's a needless one. Also, the flashback song 'paartha mudhal naale' and the duet with jyothika are definitely slowing down the pace, I think. The background music's been horrendous, to say the least ! ! I dunno why Gautham 's sticking with Harris Jeyaraj !! He has spoiled many movies with his background score . . He does it with style here also (!!!!) . .Those jarring noises are really a pain , to hear.. It's high time to keep him out of the recording room and let someone else do the background score ! ! Also, there are some small holes in the screenplay . . Like , how can kamal forget the fact to guard his fiancé's home when the killer's are on the loose , and how can the villains escape the police and roam freely in chennai ?? Except these, it's a good flick . .

I've heard some friends say to me that this is a slow movie. .I think it's been purposefully taken like that. This is what happens in real life too. U can't expect the chase to be very crisp in real life. . When a cop chases psychopaths, it's a slow one.. Nothing wrong with it.

My final say : Well, see it , Njoy and feel good for Gautham for making yet another stylish cop movie ! ! Don't compare it with 'Kakka kaakka' or ' Kurudhippunal'. They are the two best ever cop films in Tamil and this can be(remember, it's a 'can be' . . Not 'will be') the third one !!

Yes, he has done it again. A must watch for Kamal fans!!!!!!!!!!

[jothisundar · 9/10 · 26 August 2006]

Yes, Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu (VV) is released at last. It was a surprise when I came to know that VV is releasing on Friday. It had everything for a Kamal movie in it, except his usual experiments, which he is not doing in his last few movies. In VV he almost resembles the character he played in Soora Samhaaram a 1988 movie. But I just feel that there has been too much of a blood shed or violence in the movie, which is becoming a trend in Tamil movies of late. Now, to the review of the story. VV starts with a nice song and a fight sequence, which Kamal has done quite nicely. Then starts the story of the movie with the kidnapping of Prakashraj's daughter and Kamal going to Madurai, just to find out that the girl is dead. Prakashraj has done a nice role of a father, and we are missing quite a few Kamal regulars in his movies like Nasser, Santhanabarathi and Nagesh. Then the story then moves back to Chennai and it seems that Kamal has forgotten about the murder and one fine day he gets a call from his chief telling that Prakashraj and his wife are executed by someone in New York, oh, yes, they had gone to New York, the Big Apple. Then he wants to go there to investigate the crime and his chief lets him. He is joined there by a detective named Anderson and with him he investigates and he doesn't find any things. Then, things are starting to happen all of a sudden in Kamal's favor and an incident happens which is similar to what happened before Prakashraj's daughter's murder. Then they find out quite a few dead bodies and start to narrow down their investigation. And then at the end (oh, yeah, and this is in the first half of the movie before the interval) they killers are shown and there comes the intermission. When it starts all again Kamal and the detective narrows their list of 10 people and then what happens after the interval is the rest of the story, which I don't want to reveal here. Yeah, at the end, Kamal does it again, a cool and composed acting by him and somehow he manages to get a beautiful girl in his movie, not Jyothika, she is cute thought, I am talking about Kamalinee, even though she only does a cameo of a role, but she has done it well. Overall, a film that starts in Chennai goes to the Big Apple then comes back again to Chennai and a lovely camera by Ravi and superb acting performance by Kamal, Jo, and Prakashraj has done the trick for the movie. But, one real let down though in the movie has been the resemblance of the Director's Gautam Menon's previous police flick, Kakka Kakka, same psychopathic villains and the use of O*** word and F*** words in the movie, and the raping scenes which made a family who came with their teenage kids to be a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable. If he has reduced those things it would have been a nice one. A great work done by the team!!!!!

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006)

[santhosh-10290 · 7/10 · 1 January 2018]

The movie was good. Kamal Hassan superb acting. But some scenes were so vulgar. Songs and BGM in the movie were superb in the movie. The movie was very interesting.

Technically brilliant and fresh!!

[kpvbalaji · 8/10 · 28 August 2006]

The movie is really a bench mark for Tamil cinema on the technical fore front. The plot is also a bit bold and one of its kind. Kamal hassan underplays DCP Raghavan really well. Its a big boost for the movie. The duologue's are pretty good, and the subtle sense of humor of kamals character is enjoyable. another big plus for the movie is the outstanding camera work by ravi verman. Those aerial shots of NY are really breathtaking. Editing keeps the movie fast paced. the BGM of Harris is the main drawback of the movie. The romance between kamal and jo is offbeat.Very new to tamil cinema.The movie may not go down well with children and women for its content and violence. Overall a very uncodable nice movie. A real treat for action lovers and Kamal fans.

An action oriented cat and mouse game between a cop and a serial killers duo made strictly for masses.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 6/10 · 5 September 2021]

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006) : Brief Review -

An action oriented cat and mouse game between a cop and a serial killers duo made strictly for masses. This film was a success at box office and it was deserving for many reasons. But when i look at its intro on Wiki 'Neo-noir thriller film' then i must say it differs a lot. There is nothing like that out there in almost 3 Hours long film and even if i agree that the team really intended to bring Neo-noir touch, the fact remains still that they didn't really managed to do it. Otherwise, it's a fine massy Flick and quite suitable for classes too for the stylish designing all over. It doesn't go like any other out-an-out mass action film where things go over the top. Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu was actually a new break in storytelling. Although the film is 30 minutes long because of that typical romance and the songs, it still looked fairly gripping all the time considering the first time viewing. The film revolves around a Police Officer named Raghavan who investigates a series of brutal rapes and murders with the culprits seeming to cover more than one country. If i am not wrong then this international serial killer thing was new then in 2006 and of course it gives a new timeline to the narrative so this change in storytelling in Tamil Cinema was surely pleasant. Kamal Haasan looks great as a cop. I haven't seen his action oriented Avatar yet so for me this was a pretty nice break from his high quality classics. Jyothika has acted fairly upto the mark whereas Salim Baig and Daniel Balaji are surprisingly outstanding as serial killers. Director Gautham Menon has made a pretty watchable cop-drama and sort of a thriller too but i think he could have trimmed it by 30 minutes or so and then the final cut would have looked much better and more thrilling. Overall, a commercial draft of cop thriller that should be enjoyed according to its decent quality and not spindly hype.

RATING - 6.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

10 Reasons I hated VV

[Hemanth-2 · 4/10 · 28 August 2006]

On the way back from IMC6 (San Jose, California), all five (mind you, three of us hardcore Kamal fans) of us had reached a unanimous verdict; VV was solid crap and thanks to the movie we were going to have a pretty screwed up Monday. Not to mention, we swore to stay off the theatres for the next year.

I won't blame Kamal here because he sort of dropped a hint in a recent interview with cartoonist Madan (on Vijay TV). He said something like, "Tamizh Cinema'la Photography, Editing'la namba munnera'na maadri Screenplay, Direction, Acting'la innum namba munnera'la" (Tamil Cinema has grown in terms of Photography and Editing, but we have hardly improved, when it comes to Screenplay, Direction and Acting"). While you're watching VV, those words ring very true.

Now, here are the 10 Reasons to hate this movie:

1. Harris Jeyaraj

2. Harris Jeyaraj

3. Harris Jeyaraj I'm barely holding myself from using expletives here, but fact is HJ has mastered the fine knack of screwing up every recent movie of his (remember 'Anniyan', 'Ghajini') with the jarring cacophony, he bills as background music. The next time I have an eardrum transplant, he's paying for it.

4. Songs Neither do the songs help move the movie's narration spatially/temporally nor do they make you sit up and take notice. The film feels like it's made of four VERY long songs with a few scenes thrown in between them.

5. A Short gone too far. VV at best is fit to be a short story, not a 2 hour plus "thriller". To use a cliché here, like the Energizer bunny it goes on and on and on; only in this case you don't want it to. The later part of a movie feels like a big drag.

6. Kamal-Jothika pairing Two ice cubes rubbed together could've produced more sparks than this lead pairing. There's no reason you would root for them to make it together. In fact every time they get together in the second half of the movie, they make a good irritant to the narration. Hate to say this, but Kamalini Mukerjhee's 10 minute romancing does more than what Kamal and Jothika achieve in this movie plus 'Thenali'.

7. Kamal Haasan's accent Kamal has this pretentious accent that nobody speaks either in India or in the US; and it isn't new either. He's been doing it since 'Thoongadae Thambi Thoongadae'. It's simply gets on the nerve. Imagine what havoc it can cause when his flair for using this strange accent meets shooting on location in the US. He doesn't leave it at the Immigration either, he offers doses of advice to his men (bewildered TN Cops from Keeranor, Sathoor and beyond) in chaste Kamanglish ("Wha we hav here is plain bad police wok"), of course with nauseating effect.

8. Logic There are a few directors whom you expect to stand up to a certain scale. Gautam fails us badly with some crappy performance in the Department of common sense. Which D.C.P in his senses would meet his love interest on the streets to discuss such matters as committing himself and life after! The scene inside the theatre was so bad, towards the climax; we could hear people behind us loudly challenge the Hero's IQ. "Is he stupid, can't he just use his Siren or Lights?" (On a busy Madras road, Kamal-the-cop-on-a-police-Jeep chases a guy on a bike just like any ordinary dude!). "Can't he just use his gun?" ("The guy on a bike" starts on foot and we have a fully geared Kamal in hot pursuit for a considerable amount of time). I'm not voting in favour of the later, but I'm just trying to explain the mood inside.

9. Gore & Violence If I wanted to watch women being raped, their throats getting slashed, more women getting raped and thrown into the bushes with excruciating authenticity, I would sit at home and rather watch a "Police Report" or "Kuttram". The use of excessive violence should go in a way to extend the story, not overwhelm it! Somewhere down the line Gautum seems confused about what the extensions (rapes, murders) are and what the mainstay (story) is!

10. Even a double shot Espresso couldn't get the pain out of the head.

v v lifted from Proof of the Man by Junya Sato

[shamnass · 14 November 2006]

v v lifted from Proof of the Man by Junya Sato

The ploy line of Proof of the Man is "When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York.

There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime" Kamal looks like wounded tiger..

yeah.. v accept it has some technical brilliance.. but not to the high standards..

and the BGM at some scenes very noisy..

i rated this movie 5/10

learn bollywood

[halder-sandeep · 10/10 · 9 November 2008]

I was in awe of this movie.if i am not wrong this movie translates as hunt and play in English( I am not a Tamil). if so then it ...true to it's meaning.over the past 50 yrs bollywood cannot claim to have come up with something like this.kamal hassan performance is outstanding,but the real hero of this film is director gautham menon.

the only glitch i thing were the psycho...though they acted well but u need a seasoned actor to stand infront of someone like kamal hassan

the movie is a cat and mouse chase of two psycho and a police officer.the murder sequences are gruesome and perhaps the first time in Indian screen has depicted in such a manner.i wish some bollywood learns the art of filmaking from the south filmmakers and stop churning junks like tashan.

This movie certainly takes Tamil cinema to ger8 heights

gr8 going for kollywood

Worth watching if you are ready for a daring but strange plot.

[milano_ilao · 8/10 · 6 September 2006]

I am a telugu guy, but really fond of some tamil movies which have an appreciable standard of innovative technical and screenplay achievement. Though i do not understand the language fully, i take considerable effort to know what is happening in every scene of the movie.

So, i went and watched this movie which is a Cop story...directed by Menon of Kakka Kakka fame and it has the versatile Kamal Hassan in it. Ummm, the title sounded very catchy too. Middle aged Cop hunting a serial killer on the run...wait a minute, when did you ever knew about an Indian serial killer who is methodical ?. These brothers (2 serial killers in this movie) do the killings in rural parts of Tamil Nadu and also in the creepy places near New York, USA. HELLO, this is NOT INNOVATIVE when you use two young guys as serial killers who cannot handle such a thing on their own, where experience is the main criterion and essential requirement to fool the establishment and societies in India and USA. The director got too involved with his own movie watching days (hannibal lecter kind) while writing the story line, where he tries to dwell into the behaviour of that main psycho guy (i cannot recollect his character name) in much of the second half of the movie.

I expected the psychopath through-out the initial phase of the movie (just before the 2 brothers are shown to the audience) to be a seasoned professional killer who is at ease with his deeds, which then would have bought new dimensions to Kamal Hassan's character, thus making the movie more thrilling to watch. A definite disappointment for me there. The movie takes abrupt turns every 20 or 30 minutes and Kamal's character should have been more serious (i appreciate the inclusion of comic mode once a while, but it should have been greatly reduced for the sake of a thriller).

I liked the overall approach of the director in trying to make a very different movie, where he successfully tried to cut through the existing mold(many such previous Indian movies had a "responsibility" of satisfying all the audience) of treating a cop story and making it more original to watch also taking it to the rusty criminal's door steps (i bet a real criminal of that kind should have been scared a little with Kamal's character after watching this movie). My salute to the director of the movie for handling a brave script and thats the main reason for me giving 8 out of 10. This movie will open new avenues for Indian cinema.

The songs are nicely shot (i liked Neruppae and the initial title track).

"Chinna Pasangalaa" , Kamal shows who's the boss

[varunsuperhero · 10/10 · 29 May 2020]

One of GVM's best movies ever made. This is one of the greatest cop movies ever made in Tamil Cinema. Kamal doesn't act, he lives as Raghavan, also Jyothika is natural and charming with a beautiful love story spun around them.Special mention to Daniel Balaji as the terrifying villain, whose performance haunts me till date.

Fresh Feel

[neethu1986 · 9/10 · 5 September 2008]

Yes,I totally agree.The movie had its hits and misses.But overall it had a stylish look and for the first time,we got to see,really how bad,people(rapists,serial killers etc)are.Usually,in Indian Cinema,particularly in Bollywood,they are shown in a different light,never touching anything too scandalous.But here in this movie,they have moved a step ahead and showed things in a different perspective. And yes,the movie had tones of flaws peeking out here and there.But can we really complain about them?We as Indians have been feeding on big dosages of gooey showcase of an excuse called films(mainly from the Yash-Raj and Karan-Johar family),that,movies like these are like something fresh and something we all crave for. But they should have used a different rating on this movie.Because this movie is definitely not for small kids. My verdict is that: -this movie was stylish -had a new look and feel to it -handled some pretty tough subjects with ease -music was great -Kamal was in command of his character -but wrong rating -too many loose ends to tie up

one time thrill with love to watch

[sureshrahulin · 7/10 · 1 September 2006]

A handsome and lonesome hero Jamal how quite and how cute.. brilliant work by Gotham with Harris and reforming.. we have gone too far in technical aspects and cutting between shots are very sharp..good thrill throughout on watching...director has touched the soft corner of Jamal too bit long which causes slip in some scenes.. He is not full determined whether its a love based thriller or thrill base love.. its a part of compromising.. us scenes are lovable to eyes.. its such easy for villains to got out of America immediately...tremendous effort by the team in aspect technical aspect and sound mixing may be a milestone for Indian cinema starts from here...recommended for high type thrill

Another Eposide in a Policeman's life

[JagannathNarayanamoorthy · 9/10 · 20 October 2006]

Well as gautam (director) has very shrewdly put it at the beginning of the movie, this movie is indeed an another episode in a cop's life.......nothing new, nothing great you'll find in this movie, but just the way in which the whole plot unfolds is captivating. Typical Indian title song which i should say is a classy one. And music is not as great as the one Harris could manage in Kakka Kaakha........but all said, the music blends well with the movie and compliments it to a nicety....kamal is classy as usual and carries on with such ease, u hardly realize that he is acting in this movie....the second hour of the movie gives you a dragging feeling, and its just not a feeling, but indeed it does drag a bit and then speeds up again at the climax......some crisp editing and camera covers up some minor blips in the screenplay...........but to be very honest, i expected something more and better than what gautam delivered in the name of Vettaiyadu Velaiyadu….but i know i am asking for too much, but the expectation was set by Kaakha kaakha...so VV could have been a lot better, but not a bad movie as what it is now.....6/10 and just in case you are a kamal fan like me then its 9/10 :-)....

A Great Cop Story!!

[archoo16 · 7/10 · 2 September 2006]

Hats off to the crew!! Great movie, Nice story line! Nice songs!!! Kamal plays a tough cop, a widower, and comes across a gory murder by psychopath serial killer,Daniel Balaji who plays a medico.(Never knew he looked so good). Kamal as DCP goes to Newyork to investigate the case where he meets Aradhana who's facing a broken marriage and has got a baby. Jothika as Aradhana is so cute! Kamal comes back and gets the baddie and his buddy.And marries Jo and they live happily ever after!!! Cool, the idea of a heroine who's got a baby marrying the hero!!!tamil movie industry is at-last breaking all those dumb rules( even if heroine is widowed it would be before the first night!) and walking the path of better thinking!! Great Job people!!

Plus -* Kamal * Goutham * Songs * Dialogues, especially when he says " neenga enna homosexuals'a?"

Minus - * Much similarities to "Kakka kakka"!

by far the best tamil movie

[ceesen-1 · 10/10 · 19 October 2006]

hi all i am a big fan of kamalji and this one is the best of all his movies so far what is unique in this movie is his characterisation which suits his body language and age the whole movie pull us to the edge of the chair right from the word go songs are done very well though it is a psycho thriller and subject focused on serial killer the pace is bit cut off i thought when the secret is revealed in the midway and not taken to the tail end but as the time went on and on i think gautham handled it very well and so as the casts i think no one should miss this movie in theatre and especially kamal and gauthams fans and of course good works by the cast of psycho thrillers and heroine both the new comer (cute) and jyothika (as usual a good performance) prakash raj played a silent but good roll

wherever you are watch it on screen

yet another trend setter from kamalji

Good action thriller suited for Kamal, still runtime could be cutdown

[kumbali0911 · 7/10 · 8 December 2022]

A film with a really good potential, turned out to be a little draggy cause of unnecessary extensions in the plot. Jyothika (SPOILER AHEAD) is basically a filler character for this film. Her acting and all was good nonetheless, but her presence is just for romantic scenes and one small scene where she meets Kamal at the hospital.

The villain arc, unpopular opinion ahead, feels a little overrated to me. The movie stays true to the title, but the real hunt starts only at the last forty five minutes of the movie. Daniel Balaji's acting is good as well and it kinda compensates the lack of depth in the villain character. And the final "are you homosexual" thing felt really cringe to be honest. Overall a one time decent watch which is not as good of a movie as claimed by a lot.

Slow Action; No Thriller

[k_rathinavelu · 5/10 · 26 August 2006]

there is no geniusness without absurdity... and kamal is a genius this movie is _______ (fill in the blanks)

The movie had been taken in such waythat you will never get into the mood. we cannot feel thrill in the murders, sympathy for the victims, and urge for unfolding the suspense.

the movie started as a crime investigation story... you will just be a dump watcher for all those murders and the investigations... there is no brain-work left for you to involve in the "suspense".

and kamal.. is not a charm to watch in this movie... though his action is as good as ever, his bulging cheeks and tummy lever lets you admire him in this movie.

and jothika... what a waste!!! her sad characterization slower this movie as if it were not slow enough.

for harris... the songs have come too good.. but missing the important this - background music. its missing the emotion of the scenes all across the movie.

though the movie is technically good, its missing the main thing... it never lets you involve in the movie...

gautam... we can recognize his hard-work in this movie. but hard-work is not everything. better luck next time!!!

kamal... though i got disappointed in mumbai express and this time also, still i watch his next movie with the same level of expectation. hope things will be right then.