Chaotic Brilliance.

‘VadaChennai’ (North Chennai) starts with a blood-filled scene. We see 4 people drenched in blood. And a pool of blood. After making a life-changing decision of killing the biggest smuggler of the neighborhood Rajan (Ameer Sultan), Guna (Samuthirakani), Senthil (Kishore), Velu (Pawan) and Pazhani (Sai Dheena) sat down for a smoke with a big confusion up ahead. The film is set on late 1980s and goes on till 2000s.


VadaChennai tells us the story of a death that changed the life of Anbu, a state-level carrom player. First half of the film is set in a prison. It gives the viewers an idea about the pivotal characters and how did they end up in jail. It tells us the story of friends-turned-rivals Guna and Senthil brawling for power and money. Somehow Anbu gets involved and plays a pivotal twist in the story. Each and every character in the film is equally brutal. There is no partiality between men and women. The characters, Chandra (Andrea Jeremiah) and Padma (Aishwarya Rajesh) are classic examples. The story is filled with knots and it all clears up as we move on to the story.

Rajan’s character is the axis of the whole story. We can see Rajan as the biggest smuggler of the neighbourhood and the protector of the same. The whole story revolves around Rajan and his murder. We can see bits of Rajan in Anbu when he stood up for the neighborhood like the same way Rajan did back on his days.

The Vetrimaaran’s signature way of storytelling is very evident here. A plot that can confuse most of the people is told with simplicity. Even the narration is of a new style. Casting is something that Vetrimaaran nails every single time. An array of wonderful actors gives life to each character. Every role in the film is tailored to the actor. Especially Ameer Sultan.

The usual crew of Vetrimaaran with Velraj behind the camera and G V Prakash Kumar on background scoring and music took a slight change here in VadaChennai. Santhosh Narayan is the master behind the modern yet a very ‘VadaChennai’ way of scoring. The art of ‘Gaana music’ has a big influence in the scores and tracks of this film. This type of music style is proven by Santhosh Narayan.

Relation between a director and a cinematographer plays a major role in film making. Every Vetrimaaran film with Velraj handling the cameras proves that their wavelength is stronger than anything. Velraj is an absolute monster when it comes to depicting chaos and confusion. VadaChennai is yet another trophy for the duo.

Every film by Vetrimaaran shows us different parts of the cruel world. When ‘Polladhavan’ showed us the rivalry between two gang members, ‘Visaranai’ showed us the real face of police brutality. VadaChennai is a masterpiece by a master craftsman. It is chaotic, but brilliant.