VITHAIKKAARAN – REVIEW
Cast: Sathish, Simran Gupta, Anandraj, Madhusudhan, Subramaniam Siva, John Vijay, Pavel Navageethan, Japan Kumar
Director: Venki
With its intriguing premise of a magician-turned-thief snared in a web of crime and amnesia, Vithaikkaaran aims to be a multi-genre experience. Its attempts to blend comedy, crime, and drama, however, lead to an uneven film where the promising moments struggle to overcome a lack of overall cohesion.
Vetri (Sathish) is a skilled illusionist drawn into a daring diamond heist. After an unexpected blow to the head leaves Vetri with apparent memory loss, he escapes the hospital and embarks on a desperate, often comical, mission to reconstruct the events, for reasons we will know later. As the film shuttles between present-day confusion and flashbacks, Vetri encounters a motley crew of criminals, anchored by Anandraj’s scene-stealing performance as the bumbling Dollar Azhagu. These comic elements, alongside Vetri’s background as a magician, establish the expectation of a lighthearted, potentially dark, comedic crime caper.
However, Vithaikkaaran repeatedly undermines its comedic strengths with jarring shifts into underdeveloped drama and suspense. The inconsistency is exacerbated by Sithara (Simran Gupta), an investigative journalist who is determined to expose a drug racket. While meant to inject both urgency and depth into the narrative, Sithara’s character comes across as a mere pawn within the larger scheme, a missed opportunity to what ultimately is a revenge story.
Where the film shines is in the comedic set pieces with Sathish and his accomplices. Sathish convincingly embodies the sly magician, who is out of his depth. There’s a flicker of brilliance in a few meta-comedy moments, where the characters themselves seem aware of the film’s tropes. Yet, these elements cannot sustain the narrative, as Vithaikkaaran is reluctant to embrace its humorous side.
Disjointed editing and an intrusive score further hinder Vithaikkaaran. The filmmakers appear to have become over-enamored with genre tropes, ultimately compromising the final product.
Directed by Venki, Vithaikkaaran has a good setup and moments of genuine humor, but it cannot balance its conflicting ambitions. A tighter emphasis on its comedy and heist elements could have made for a darkly entertaining ride. Instead, it’s left caught in a muddle of its own identity, offering viewers only partial satisfaction.