“Aadukalam” which had expectation soaring has finally hit the screens and this movie undoubtedly is one amongst Danush’s best performance till date. Danush has lived in the character of K P Karuppu where the body language and his dialogue delivery dialect suits perfectly to the Madurai slang which has increased the nativity quotient of the film. Tapsee Pannu as the Anglo-Indian girl is cute and fits the role perfectly.
The movie begins with a narration about the history of rooster fight and how it became an important sport in rural Tamil Nadu. The story is set in Madurai where there are two rival gangs who had their rivalry dating back to few generations. In the present generation there is K P Karuppu (Danush) and Durai (Kishore) who learn the tricks of the trade from their mentor (Jayabalan).
On the other hand there is Rathnasamy (Naren) who is a police officer belonging to a family of people who involve themselves in rooster fight. The main prestige in winning the rooster fight is that the winner will be called as Pettaikaran. Luck would have it, it was always Jayabalan who wins the fight and retains the title to good effect.
Rathnasamy decides to lock horns with Jayabalan and team in a more aggressive manner which sets the pace of the movie racing in the first half. In the midst of all this, there is Irene (Tapsee Pannu) who steals the heart of K P Karuppu and her entry in to his life makes things more interesting.
When things go fine, K P Karuppu does not obey his mentor’s words and acts according to his instinct in which he comes out with flying colors. This leads to jealousy and betrayal which comes as a jolt to K P Karuppu. By the time he realizes what is happening around him, its too late and things go way beyond his control. In the end what does he do to solve the brewing issue is being said in the most logical way possible.
In terms of acting, Danush and Tapsee Pannu steal the show with their brilliant display of skills. Kishore, Jayabalan and Naren have performed their role to perfection but compared to the acting of the lead pair, their performances take a back seat.
Director Vetri Maaran who had given the hit “Polladhavan” with Danush has tried hard to repeat the same result in this “Aaduklam” also. The first half of the movie is interesting with sequences moving at a brisk pace. In the second half, things turn out to be dull as the screenplay loses pace and the ensuing sequences gets more predictable which could have been avoided. The second half moves at such a slow pace that the viewers get a bit bored which pulls down the expectations on the film.
Music by G V Prakash Kumar is one of the strong pillars of the movie, the songs are chartbusters and especially the “Yaathe Yaathe” song sets the pulse racing. The rooster fights, which are digitally generated is perfectly rendered and it is a treat to watch. The movie however has few technical short-comings especially in a certain phase where the dialogues are almost inaudible unless one has an ear for detail.
The movie has a running time of 155 minutes and with a little more concentration on the screenplay, the box-office returns would have been handsome.
“Aadukalam” starts well but looses track mid way and ends badly.
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