Veyyil. The heat permeates in every screen and manifests itself in all the characters, sometimes with a shining glow and many a time through its suffocation.Murugesan and Kadir, played by Pasupathy and Bharath, are brothers from a rustic village near virudhunagar (madurai).
Bharath is as exuberant and shiny as the sun is and Pasupathy is like an eclipsed sun, full of feared energy lying dormant.Pasupathy's crush with Pandi (played by Shirya, as the character reaches middle age) comes to a grinding halt, when Kumar (Pasu's dad) man-handles and strips him naked in hot sun, for giving a miss to school and relishing MGR movie (in the midst of rings of smoke, perhaps).The scorch of the sun in his life starts here, as Pasupathy sets off to a destination that he never reached. Losing money, jewels (taken from home), Pasupathy carries hope and MGR in his mind.
The story then is about his love for the smalltown movie hall where he is the operator. Carefully scripted poetic relationship between him and his gaurdian, Pasupathy's handlebar mouthstache, all add to director's meticulousness and focus in story telling.Pasupathy falls in love with Thangam, the opposite door food stall owner's daughter. Their love raises heat like mercury but fades soon like twilight, as the girl's family takes revenge on Pasupathy for the couple's pervious day's initimate moment in the operator room.Pasupathy escapes death even after strangling, while thangam kills herself seeing his plight!Much like the mercury suffocating you in the summer, life's travails melt pasupathy, who finally decides to go back to his dusty village.
The scene where pasupathy meets bharath and introduces himself, one where his dad refuses any emotional sidekicks to pasupathy moves you like ghee that melts in hot air. Special mention about Vasanthabalan, the debutant director, for his characterization and casting.Bharath plays the anchor for Pasupathy in the house now and rallies everyone around to show their love for their lost-and-found elder brother. While their mother (another fitting display of the characterization) shows ample love, its second to what she has for Bharath, who took the family to where it is, with his banner advertising company.Pandi, Pasu's childhood crush is another manifestation of suffocated life who is now a single mother. She offers motherly affection to quell Pasupathy's emotinal starvation.When the whole family keeps him away and still doubts him (mistakenly) for jewels that disappeared the second time, Pasupathy's reaction to the characters and props, tell you that he is the next big thing in tamil cinema.
Bharath also scores will in choosing his movies and getting into the character. As an angry rustic youth with immense desire to excel, Bharath truely epitomizes the can-do rural youth.His heroics in the advertising auction, humility in front of the business man, love for brother, care for family and romantic overlays spiced with anger, for Meenakshi, all gel well with the character and Bharath has done his role proud.The movie does not trivialize sibling relationships like other tamil movies have did. Murugesan lays his life for his brother who was chased to the edge of death by the rival business gang and saves his brother and his family's existence.Only then the family realizes that Murugesan is not a run-away kid but their savior, albeit, after the heat of life had consumed him.
Veyyil, in all, is a must watch classic that touches upon the helplessness of a cursed soul as it tries to win over life and does not live to see it, as it wins life!
Must watch!
