All Rajinikanth films have some default settings. It doesn’t matter who directs him, they have to play by these rules or around it. Experimentations by the director are allowed but within the frame of the boilerplate. The success then comes down to how the proverbial ‘director’s touch’ syncs with the template of a superstar film.
With Vettaiyan, TJ Gnanavel has tried his best to weave a realistic social commentary around the quintessential superstar, and the result is a conspicuous mismatch of tone. While Gnanavel gets a lot of moments right, the excess of Superstar isn’t his strong zone. Thus, Rajinikanth’s heroic moments become perfunctory, like most of the things in the film.
In essence, Vettaiyan is about an ethical problem. On one hand, Athiyan, the Superintendent of Police, popularly known as Vettaiyan (Hunter) in the department, is all in for the extrajudicial killing of sinister criminals. On the other, Sathyadev (Amitabh Bachchan), a retired judge, and a humanitarian, is on a crusade against such police encounters. The two finally get a face when Athiyan makes a blunder while investigating a case involving a government school teacher Saranya (Dushara).
The script is a solid playground of TJ Gnanvel, who has pulled off a hard-hitting film like Jai Bhim. Had another hero who doesn’t carry the same gravitas as Rajinikanth played Athiyan, Vettaiyan would have been a different and more efficient film. It is now torn between being the director’s vision and the Superstar’s actioner.
We first meet Athiyan while he is on a hunt to kill an influential criminal, who constantly ducks justice. One has to note the extent Gnanavel is willing to go to hype up Rajinikanth. We see his face through a hole in a cigarette, which is illogical even for a Rajinikanth film. Rajinikanth and his persona will make you buy into the ruse.
However, such an over-the-top scene is part of a film that is too cautious about logic when it comes to the ‘serious’ stuff. That’s the problem with Vettaiyan. It doesn’t want to be a mindless entertainer like Jailer. It wants you to take it seriously but also expects you to cut slack whenever it goes bonkers.
