Petta engira Vetta

Petta a.k.a Vetta.

Vetta, for the non Tamilian reader, literally means hunt and Petta is a good one at that.

As I sat down to write this review, I went through my notes that I took in the theater and realized that I had put down enough words in there to make up for a entire review. These capture my first impression. I am putting them down here with additional notes.

*Amazing cinematography*
*Wonderful lighting, lot of night shots*

I have nothing more to add here :)

*Nice opening*
*Out and out Rajni opening*

The movie opens well with a touch of suspense in the air. Hooking the watcher in, right from the first shot. Set to the tunes of an old Sivaji song, shrouded in fog, night effect, silence, some dim lighting. Some thugs are getting beaten up. And then......

You have to be a Rajni fan or must have watched some of his movies that came out in the 90s or early 2000s to understand what a Rajni opening means. Watch this one. You will know.

*A role suiting his age*
*A comeback close to the Rajni of the late 90s*

*Beautiful portrayal of lost youth*
*Younger look impressive*

Rajni, of late, has been playing roles suiting his age. And though this is one such role, the director has made sure Rajni comes across as a energetic, albeit, middle aged man. No angry young man story here for sure. You feel like you are watching a younger Rajni, almost. The initial scenes are lighthearted with a sprinkling of some ageless romance from a protagonist who is well past his youth. You can almost see the pangs hiding behind the smiles. His younger look is quite impressive, thanks to some CGI and good makeup. I hope other directors take a cue. Even Sivaji or 2.0 falls in comparison.

*Movie moves with a knot in the background*
*Knot slowly unfolding*

*Something bigger looming*

*Well set up for the second half*

*Heroism in Tamil cinema is the only dampener*

Though there is not much happening in terms of a story in the first half, the movie moves ahead with a knot in the back ground. Bobby Simha's role as the bad guy briefly acts as a red herring. You know something is looming larger in the background as the plot slowly unfolds. The only thing that dampened that suspense is that the hero in Tamil Cinema, Rajni of all, will always overcome any and all challenges. Notwithstanding that, by the end of the first half, the movie very well set for whats to come. And at that stage of the movie, irrespective of what was to come after, I was clear this will be one of this best movies in the recent times and for some time to come.

*Smooth transition in and out of the flashback*

*Smattering of social messages in honor killing, casteism and sand quarrying*

*Reasonable justification for the villain, but no depth or much villainy*

*Second half is a bit of a drag*

*In the name of realism in North India*
*Twist*

Granted, it is bit of a cliche that the second half starts off with the flashback. But the transition in and out of the flashback is clean and smooth. This is where most movies lose the way, sometimes over-stating the background or sometimes under-etching it. This one though, is well balanced. There is a smattering of a social message in the form of battling casteism, honor killing and illegal sand quarrying. But the scenes stating those end faster than you would take to read this line. There is even a good justification for the villain to hate the hero to the core, thanks to his family being routed swiftly by the latter. There is however a slight lag once the flashback is over as Rajni takes a trip up north to track down the villain. Its quickly made up for by Vijay Sethupathi and the ultimate twist at the climax.

*Beautiful casting*

*Simran looks ravishing*

*Simran or Trisha would have been enough*

*Sasi's role not deep enough*

The casting is quite impressive in all. They have some good actors slotted in the right roles. Simran looks ravishing but her role is short lived. Same with Trisha. In retrospect, it might have been a good idea to cut the role played by Simran or Trisha and made the other's part meatier. Sasi's role looks promising but lacks depth. Wasted is the word that comes to my mind. But then what do you expect in a Rajni outing? His screen presence will leave the others behind in the lurch.

*Shades of Jigarthanda or even Kabali*
*Karthik Subburaj and classic cars or vehicles*

Karthik Subburaj's invisible presence though can be felt through and through. Be it the etching of characters or the gangster love or subtle romance or the raw treatment of the story. There are shades of Jigarthanda. Though, not one of his movies, there is also some heavy influence from Kabali. Nevertheless, I wish these two get together again for another movie, if not a sequel. By the way, nothing to complain about, but whats with the director's love for classic cars and vans?

*Political dialogues*

*Muslim, Land, people*

The movie is replete with punches of political dialogues. Perhaps because Rajni wants to throw his hat in the ring. Its either me over analysing it or its a well thought out move that Sasi happens to be playing a muslim. There are dialogues indicating that a sleeping giant has been woken up to save the land and its people. Something that could have been left out?

*Songs below par, BGM is good*
*Santosh Narayanan missed*
*Craziness missing*

The BGM is fantastic. But the songs are way below par. It reeks of Anirudh all over and doesn't do justice to Rajni or to Karthik Subburaj. I missed Santosh Narayanan and his the craziness his tunes carry in them.

The movie, overall, is a wonderful watch. Lightweight, no melodrama, relatively fresh, well shot, and above all, its the super star.