Tags
2013, A. R. Murugadoss, Adharvaa Murali, Bala, Dileepan, P. Kinslin, Paradesi, Tamil, Vathikuchi
Vathikuchi (unsubtitled)
Vathikuchi is written and directed by debutant P. Kinslin, produced by A. R. Murugadoss, and features the acting debut of Murugadoss’s brother Dileepan. Dileepan plays Sakthi, who lives on the outskirts of Chennai with his parents and sister, and works as an autorickshaw driver. The structure of the film is relatively sophisticated, with a present-day storyline involving Sakthi’s crush on his neighbour Leena, played by Anjali, and numerous flashbacks showing how he unknowingly made enemies of three different people. First, he is robbed by some thugs outside an ATM, but later beats them and their leader up and gets his money back. As a result the leader (played by Sampath Raj) loses respect and ends up destitute. Next, he foils an assassination attempt against a man and his family, making an enemy of the gangster who ordered the assassination (played by Jayaprakash) (this storyline was hard to grasp without subtitles). Finally, a neighbour of Sakthi’s (played by Jagan) has a plan to extort money from a wealthy man – maybe by kidnapping his son? However, the wealthy man helps Sakthi when he is involved in a traffic accident, and as a result of Sakthi’s presence in the wealthy man’s life the extortion plan fails. At the end of the film these three enemies come together to give Sakthi basically the worst 48 hours ever. The final flashback shows us how Sakthi managed to overcome his enemies and is, I think, delightfully cheeky.