Vetri Maaran is known for his unique filmmaking style and Viduthalai Part 1 is another addition to his illustrious filmography. An adaptation of a short story titled Thunaivan, the Tamil film is a gut-wrenching and powerful narrative, led by Soori, in his breakout performance.
On the surface level, Viduthalai 1 appears to be a cop drama set on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border area. But the film steadily reveals its complex layers which are rooted in caste politics and police brutality. B Jeyamohan who wrote Thunaivan also penned the screenplay for the film along with Vetri Maaran. It is perhaps the first socio-political film constructed in two parts.
The film opens with a violent scene — a train accident — in which more than a dozen people died and over hundred got critically injured. The way the camera follows the anguish of the injured people and politicians on ground brainstorming who to pin the blame of the accident on, sets the theme of Viduthalai‘s complex world.
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Soon we are introduced to Soori, who plays Kumaresan, a police constable posted to a police camp in a state border village. Soori wants to make a difference but is rather deputed to deliver food to different police camps set across the hilly conflict area.
These police camps are set up to catch the leading faces of Makkal Padai or People’s Army, an alleged terrorist outfit, headed by Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi). While government aims to clear out the forest area for an ambitious mining project, Makkal Padai is willing to use any means to safeguard the jungle and also revolt against police brutality. Sunil Menon (Gautham Vasudev Menon), a senior officer, is brought in to nab Perumal.
It is through Kumaresan’s eyes and his letters to his mother that we gradually learn about the convoluted and deeply problematic system in place. Local villagers are often tormented in the guise of interrogation. Villagers, in turn, fear and hate the police force, creating problems for the administration to catch Perumal.
Once, defying his senior officer’s orders, Kumaresan saves an injured village woman’s life. In turn, he is repeatedly punished — from cleaning toilets, sweeping floors to being assigned on tower duty night after night — for not apologising. Paapa (Bhavani Sre), a villager, offers him food and care, resulting in an affectionate bond between the two. The rest of the story is about police’s brutal tactics to reprimand Makkal Padai and Soori’s earnest efforts to keep morality and truth alive.
Unlike Vetri Maaran’s previous police drama Visaranai, Viduthalai goes beyond. He has treated the intricate subjects of social narratives, caste politics, and cop violence with an unfiltered lens. Several scenes, especially of police torturing people, stripping and beating men and women to pulp, are not for the faint-hearted. Like the bitter truth of caste politics, there is nothing easy about Viduthalai.
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Soori, who slipped into a police officer’s role for the first time, contrary to his comedic roles, has delivered a career-defining performance. While the film often paces down and screenplay wobbles, there is no false note in Soori’s performance. A lot of credit also goes to the way the character has been fleshed out on paper. A pivotal scene in the climax is the ultimate full cricket moment for Soori’s character.
Sethupathi, who would have more screen time in the sequel, does his job sincerely. The actor-director GMV has nothing substantial to do and delivers a passable performance.
Part one by Vetri Maaran is an exhaustive and commendable deep dive into the abuse of power and a policeman’s sincerity. A glimpse of part 2 in the end promises a grittier and riveting story.