Dhil

Movie Name: Dhil
Cast: Vikram , Laila , Ashish Vidyarthi , Nasser , Vivek , Deepa Venkat , Vaiyapuri
Music: Vidyasagar
Direction: Dharani
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

Like Ajith's Dheena, Dhil too tries to offereverything in one movie. It has a cute romance, good comedy, sentiments andferocious stunt sequences. But the violence here is quite bloody and serious (enoughto earn the movie an 'A' certificate) and though the light-hearted portions and themore violent scenes are handled well, they fail to gel, resulting in a movie that at times feels like it is confused about the tone it should adopt. Dhil is like a meal where we intake both sweet, and hot and spicy items alternately. The overallmeal is good and we feel full, but those items just don't go together.

Kanakavel(Vikram) is an aspiring police officer. He has been selected for the firstphase of training and things are happening as planned on the professional front. Onthe personal front too, life is smooth with his sister's engagement and a bloomingromance with Asha(Laila), his sister's fiance's sister. One evening, Kanakavelthrashes a man who tries to misbehave with Asha but later learns that the man isShankar(Ashish Vidyarthi), one of the most corrupt police officers around. An insultedShankar seeks revenge and once he locates Kanakavel, he begins to harass him and hisfamily.

The initial portions are a lot of fun. Vikram's romance with Laila is cute andsweet with the right mix of comedy and romance (PTC buses must be a lucky charm forLaila with her first meeting with the hero here, as in both Paarthen Rasithen and Dheena, happeningnear one). Vikram's method of transporting her on his bike and the comments of the peoplewho see it is a very funny segment. Vivek, Vaiyapuri and Mayilsamy are on hand for the comedy. While Vivek's separate track focusses as always on beliefs of people and socialproblems like begging, his lines when he is with Vikram are more fun. His reaction afterVikram abandons then before going with Laila is hilarious and his imitation of Laila brings down the house.

This movie has something that recent movies, with their accent on romance and comedy,have not had - a truly detestable villain. Ashish Vidyarthi earns our revulsionwith both his words and acts, as the corrupt police officer. But the flip side ofthis is that the violence is harrowing and realistic. The scene where he torturesVikram at the police station is very bloody. The scenes where the dada targets andthen kills Charuhasan and later, goes after Vikram's family(including his pregnant sister) are the other scenes which are picturised in harrowing manner. These scenesare picturised well with the catchy Kandha Sashti Kavasam in the background working very well in raising the tempo in the couple of scenes whereVikram pushes himself beyond his limits. But it is jarring when we get such violent scenes bookended by lighthearted scenes of romance or comedy.

Supporting characters are developed well and that helps to involve us in the movie.Vikram's parents and sister are living, breathing people instead of cardboardcut-outs existing solely to be harassed. There are small scenes that allow usto empathise with them and so we genuinely care for them by the time they areaffected by the police officer's acts. But Nasser's flashback to explain his wife'smental state doesn't work as well and sticks out.

Vikram looks like he is aiming to be the Salman Khan of Tamil cinema, revealing hisbuffed-up torso at every oppurtunity. Thankfully, he has developed a good body forthe role and so it doesn't get on our nerves. He has also taken a few risks that makethe stunt sequences look realistic. Laila looks pretty and cute and earns oursympathy when she is taken to the police station. Ashish Vidyarthi, a Bollywoodimport, is superb as the rowdy police inspector. His expressions and dialogdelivery embellish the character and he makes us hate him. A hugely underrated Vidyasagar, making another round in Tamil after huge success in Malayalam(where he has earned the nickname 'A.R.Rehman of Malayalam cinema'), makes sure the tunes arecatchy. The title song is catchy while the melodious Un Samayalariyil...features some nice lyrics.