[Lillie_Steins]

By Moviebuzz
Lights, Camera, Action…. It's showtime, folks! The moribund Tamil cinema has come alive with Vellithirai one of the better films in recent times and marks the directorial debut of Viji, the script writer. The film depicts the struggles of a script writer aspiring to make it big but is thwarted in his attempts by a scheming friend who steals his script to become a superstar!

Vellithira lacks the punch of the original Malayalam Udayananu Tharam, a light-hearted comedy which took a satirical look at the tinsel town. The characterization of the three main protagonists here is weak, and Viji's script lacks humour and Prakash's character is made darker and made to look like a filmy villain! Viji and Prakash Raj also studiously avoids taking potshots at the larger than life superstars, and plays it safe, something which dilutes the film.

Saravanan( Pritviraj) is a struggling script writer and has been an assistant to big directors in the industry. He is honest, hard-working, disciplined and a do-gooder to friends and struggling junior artists. He completes the script of his maiden film which he considers "to be a masterpiece". Enter Kannayya ( Prakash Raj) a sleaze ball who gatecrashes into Saravanan's flat and requests him to provide a place to stay for a few days, as he was thrown out of his previous accommodation .Kannayya also pleads with Saravanan to cast him as the hero in his debut film, but Saravanan says: "with his ugly face and overacting it would be a foolish move".

One day, in his frustration, Kannayya steals Saravanan's script, makes a Xerox, registers it in his name and approaches a leading producer (Sarath Babu). The producer takes him to a top director (Pratap Pothen). Initially they plead with him to cast a saleable hero, but Kannayya insists that if his script has to be used, he has to be the hero. So they reluctantly make him the hero of the film. Kannayya employs a manager Ramgopal Sharma (M.S Bhaskar) changes his name to Dilipkanth and gets groomed to be an actor. Saravanan learns about Kannayya's treachery, but he can do little about it. Dilipkanth's first film becomes a super hit and subsequently the middle aged hero starts doing "youth films full of fights, heroism and Kuthu songs" to become a superstar and cultivates a larger-than-life image.

At the same time leading actress Maithili (Gopika) who is in love with Saravanan falls out with her wicked brother who was using her like a milch cow. She finds solace and peace in Saravanan and one day moves in as his wife. Saravanan whose career is going nowhere is offered hero roles as they can market him as "the husband of a leading actress". A peeved Saravanan now pushed against the wall takes up a job as a call taxi driver which is humiliating to Maithili who walks out on him. The same producer who gave Dilipkanth his first break and made him a star now offer Saravanan a chance to direct a film with the superstar in the lead.

Finally Saravanan compromises as the producer says – "there are no permanent friends or enemies in the film industry". But the evil and petty minded Dilipkanth decide to make life miserable for Saravanan during the making of the film and in the end walks out without doing the climax scene! What follows is the actual racy climax of the film with a great twist, which the viewers have to find out.

Prakash Raj steals the show and under him the rest of the cast is overshadowed. He has transformed his joker character in the original to a mean, scheming guy for the Tamil version. Pritviraj has tried to underplay his character as Saravanan but in the process he gets completely overshadowed by Prakash Raj who has once again proved that he is a power house of talent. Same cannot be said about Gopika, as an actress who gets milked by her family. She hasn't looked so bad in any of her films. She looks plump, her make-up, hair and costumes just don't carry pass marks and there is no on-screen chemistry between her and Pritviraj, one of the major minus points. M.S Bhaskar, Sathyan, Lakshmi Rai, Pratap Pothen and Sampat Raj are all adequate in the supporting cast, while Jayam Ravi and Trisha makes "blink you will miss" kind of special appearances.

The music of G.V Prakash is just ok, serviceable with the peppy Suriyane.., Prakash Raj's introduction song as superstar and the melodious Uyirile .. picturised on the lead pair in Bali are the pick. Camera of M.V Paneerselvam and K.V Guhan are eye catching. Viji has struck to the Malayalam climax which is borrowed from the Steve Martin Hollywood film Bow Finger, which makes it riveting. On the whole Vellithira is not a faithful remake and therein lies its pitfalls, but at the same time it is a breezy fun movie.

Verdict- OK