Production: Labyrinth Films Cast: Guru Somasundaram Direction: Manoj Beedha Screenplay: Manoj Beedha Story: Manoj Beedha, Vinayak Music: Sam CS Background score: Sam CS Cinematography: Rodrigo Del Rio Herrara, Saravanan Ramasamy Editing: Anthony
Vanjagar Ulagam is a gangster film that has Guru Somasundaram of Joker fame in the lead role. With debutant Manoj Beedha at the helm, VU has cinematography by Rodrigo Del Herrera and music by Sam CS. Labrynth Films have produced this venture.
Contrary to other gangster films that are filled with action blocks and bullets, this film takes a detour from the set format and deals with the psychology of a gangster, played by an adept Guru Somasundaram. He literally makes acting look so simple; like his introduction scene, where he just walks into a place wearing casual slippers, and an untidy set of clothes, without any special background music.
Chandini, Ciby Bhuvanachandran, Vishagan Vanagamudi, Anisha Ambrose, Azhagam Perumal, John Vijay, Vasu Vikram, and other supporting casts have done their well. Vanjagar Ulagam is technically strong, especially, due to the work of Rodrigo Del Herrera. The colors used are contrasting and the visuals look fantastic. While Rodrigo’s work lifts the film a notch higher, especially the theatre scene lighting in the second half is an example of his good work.
It looks like Sam CS has been given the utmost freedom to work on this, as his work reflects in the output. Carnatic music and dubstep are usually considered as opposites, but he has effectively fused them. The placement of the song Kannanin Leelai during a shootout deserves a special mention. There is a certain amount of detailing in the film’s artwork. For example, there is a usage of Salvador Dali’s melting clock in one of the scenes, signifying that time is running out and the clock is just present there. There are others scenes too where clocks have been given importance. Such detailing work is an experimental audience’s delight. Full credits to art director A Rajesh.
The main drawback of this film is the engagement factor. If the audience does not connect with the editing pattern of the film, it might make them restless. The first half might come off as sluggish, it is compensated by the second half, which is filled with twists and turns, whether the audience will patiently sit till the end, is a matter of debate. The film has multiple subplots, which doesn’t help the cause either. When the twist takes place in the climax, the audience might not be able to knit all those plots together.
This is an out and out ‘A’ film. There are swear words being thrown around ruthlessly, and the scenes require them. There are gunshots, there is blood, there is violence, there are goose-flesh moments, and there are scenes that make you think about how the society has been treating a section of people. Above all these things, Vanjagar Ulagam cannot get a more perfect date for release.