Vithaikkaaran Movie Review: A bland heist film that seems to go on forever

At the beginning of Vithaikkaaran which opens in 2003, two young brothers are shown to eagerly watch their father performing card tricks. The father asks them to pick a card and then guesses it correctly. Explaining his job, he says, “The only person whom the whole world happily pays to get themselves cheated is a magician.” Just as a magician's flick of hand can transport spectators to a realm of wonder, so too can a film whisk audiences away to lands of fantasy and fiction, showing a reality that doesn’t exist for three hours. But a fundamental question arises: Is the experience offered by the spectacle—be it on screen or on stage—worth the investment of our time and money?

Cast: Sathish, Simran Gupta, Anandraj, Madhusudhan, Subramaniam Siva, John Vijay, Pavel Navageethan, Japan Kumar

Director: Venki

Directed by Venki, the film has Vetri (Sathish) striking deals with three dons played by Anandraj, Madhusudhan Rao and Subramaniam Siva to help smuggle shipments worth crores of money, diamonds and gold in return for a share for himself. He has a plan for himself of course, but that is for the audience to decode.

I quite liked how the film was self aware when portraying Sathish as the ‘stereotypical’ hero. During a scene Vetri walks into a restaurant to strike a deal with ‘Dollar’ Azhagu (Anandraj) and his henchmen. He gets a glorious welcome with background music and a dramatic slow-motion entry. Later, Azhagu asks him to turn down the music and stop the slow-motion. He then says, “Ila da paavama iruku. Vidu. (He looks pitiful. Let it go).” Even if someone finds it hard to appreciate humour, these scenes would definitely tickle the funny bone inside them. But these are just a handful.

I also liked the way the film presented Sathish to be a hero whose personal life is much like his magic – inconspicuous and secretive. Audience needn’t know details about who he is more than what is necessary and while showing him as a ‘vithaikkaaran’, the director indirectly points his wands towards the spectators and how we could be just another vithaikaaran, living two lives or maybe even three.

Simran Gupta plays an investigative journalist named Sithara whose character, unlike her profession, felt uninteresting and one-dimensional.

One cannot walk into the film expecting grand sequences and minute-to-minute thrills akin to the Now You See Me films and Money Heist series. The film has its heart at the right place and holds onto a few moments, but it crumbles even before you can finish ‘abraca...’. For most parts of the film, Vithaikkaaran projects itself to be a heist film rather than about creating magic and making the audience a part of the show. But again, it loses grip on its tricks and never brings you the ‘wow’ factor as the moves are predictable to be seen even at the gallery seat.

Sathish’s restrained performance as Vetri isn’t enough to save this act that is bland and lacks a punch to hold its audience’s attention span. I often found myself drifting away with the convoluted screenplay in the second half that tries to add humour, wittiness and action in scenes that are already all over the place. To make it simple, all the henchmen move around in circles even when the act is already done.

Revisiting the first scene, after the father showcases his sons the magic trick, one of them curiously asks out of concern, “Dad, isn’t it wrong to cheat someone this way?” The other twin quips, “It is wrong to get cheated, but not to cheat.” Alas, I realised my mistake a bit too late!