About a year back when Team India locked horns with England for the second test in Chennai, apart from his superlative exploits on the field Moeen Ali was asked by an enthusiastic Thala fan about the update on "Valimai". Obviously he was perplexed, but it just goes to show the influence that Thala has on the public despite his scant public appearances. Anyway after a prolonged silence from the makers, H Vinoth's "Valimai" finally hit the screens last week amid much hype & fanfare. Well it certainly had its moments though overall it could have been far better.
Chennai was in the grip of a gang of bikers who had made life a living hell for the citizens of this metropolitan city with the wave of crimes that they indulged in. Even the Police were at their wit's end & as the last roll of the dice the Chief decides to bring in the super cop ACP Arjun Kumar (Ajith). As expected, Arjun swings into action in quick time & made significant inroads into the crime network with the use of brawn & brains. However, Satan's Slaves as the gang was called had more aces up their sleeve.
Vinoth is a name that needs no introduction courtesy of his impressive ventures such as "Sathuranga Vetta" & "Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru". This was his second collaboration with Thala after "Nerkonda Paarvai" which was the remake of "Pink". However, the same quality of story telling was definitely lacking from his present celluloid creation as it just doesn't offer anything fresh that we are not accustomed to. The basic thread as such held promise about how the unemployed youth was sucked into the world of crime, their modus operandi, clash of ideologies, dark web & cults. But that expectation gets evaporated pretty soon as none of it are quite explored apart from a superficial mention. Just like most of Ajith's other movies, there is emphasis on the emotional content but that failed to provide any connect & drags the proceedings. Another aspect that I found surprising & hilarious was the lack of continuity in Thala's appearance as his hair colour kept changing more than a couple of times. At the same time, there are many aspects which deserves appreciation such as Dhilip Subbarayan for his impressive stunt choreography, Nirav Shah's visuals & Ghibran's BGM.
It is an out & out Thala show, though I felt his character just didn't have the impact that was expected from a performer of his charisma. He certainly fitted the bill of an intelligent cop, however the writing lacked the depth to make it much more engaging for the audience. As for the rest of the cast, Kartikeya Gummakonda (as Naren) failed to evoke dread, Bani was wasted while Huma Qureshi & Dinesh Prabhakar were ok.
Verdict: As per the latest box office reports, the movie has already minted a gross of close to 165 C world wide. This is undoubtedly humongous numbers & reiterates Thala's acceptance among the public. However, from a personal point of view; Vinoth's script wasn't quite fleshed out as expected considering it had a credible thread. In short, it could have been far better!!!
Rating: 2.25/5
Regards...Ben
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