Film Review: ''Vallarasu''

A MAJOR plus point of Captain Cine Creations' ``Vallarasu'' is its positive approach. An upright police officer with a charming wife and two cute kids presents an ideal situation for a woe- filled tale of rape, murder and kidnapping of loved ones, violence, gore and melodramatic exchanges. But ``Vallarasu'' is different... very different. It brims with optimism which suggests that right values need not always be rewarded with trauma and tragedy and sincere policing is bound to pay dividends. So what if all of it is not entirely plausible?

In his enthusiasm to project the hero as a paragon of virtues and as the embodiment of human values, director N. Maharajan goes slightly overboard and makes the hero preach too many things. Such excessive didacticism could have been avoided.

Nevertheless this heavily budgeted film, which provides non-stop action, proves a worthy launching pad for director N. Maharajan who is also responsible for the story, screenplay and dialogue. The screenplay sags mainly in the song sequences - an inevitable part of today's formula film.

Vallarasu (Vijayakanth) is a straight forward police officer. He faces all the ordeals that such an officer would, with intelligence and comes out unscathed.

The post-Kargil references and the Wasim Khan segment do not jell very well, as the place of action is Chennai. Yet the struggle between the villains and Vallarasu and the latter's clever moves and counter moves sustain the audience's interest.

In this aspect alone ``Vallarasu'' reminds one of the Parthiban starrer,``Abhimanyu''.

Devayani, as the wife of Vijayakanth cries, laughs, dances, screams and that's just about it. The role of a police official fits Vijayakanth to a T.

There is a host of known actors in ``Vallarasu'', but not many impress. Director P. Vasu as the main villain, makes an entry after the interval but fails to make much of an impact till the end. One reason could be that it is a routine bad man's role with no nuances to it.

Sreeman's is an appreciable effort. After `Sethu', he makes a mark again as an actor with potential.

S. Saravanan's camera work and `Rocky' Rajesh's stunts are the other assets of ``Vallarasu''.

The overpowering grit and idealism that ``Vallarasu'' exudes, rubs off on the audience too and is an energising factor, at least to a certain extent.

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Section  : Entertainment
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