English translation: Playground/Arena
Director: Vetri Maaran
Story: Vetri Maaran, Vikram Sugumaran
Cast: Dhanush, Taapsee Pannu, V. I. S.
Jayapalan, Naren
Music: G. V. Prakash Kumar
Time: 156 minutes
Bottom-line: An engrossing village drama
Vetri Maaran’s second feature film
would go on to win six National Awards (including Best Director, Actor and
Screenplay), equalling the record set by Kannathil Muthamittal (way back in 2002), for the maximum National Awards won by a
Tamil film. The film stars Dhanush and Taapsee Pannu in the lead roles, with
Jayapalan, Naren, Kishore and Murugadoss in the supporting roles.
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| Dhanush as Karuppu |
Cockfights,
a common feature in all the old civilizations, have a special place in Tamil
history and culture. Right from the times of Sangam literature to modern
writings, cockfights are mentioned in many epics and books.
Madurai: Pettaikaran (Jayapalan) is
a veteran rooster trainer, whose roosters consistently win cockfights because
of his secret technique of maintaining the birds. Two favourites in Pettai’s
team are Karuppu (Dhanush) and Durai (Kishore). Karuppu falls in love with an
Anglo-Indian girl, Irene (Pannu), who is initially repelled by him. Pettai’s
main competitor is Police Inspector Rathnaswamy (Naren), who insists on having
one last fight with Pettai to win, which Pettai initially refuses but is forced
to comply with in the end. The events on the day of the rooster fight will
change everyone’s lives forever, in a tale of love, greed, betrayal and survival.
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| Taapsee as Irene |
Aadukalam’s main strength is the portrayal of
the village lifestyle, including the rooster fights. As Vetri Maaran himself
said, “I went to Madurai with a script in mind, but I had to change the script
to accommodate reality. To make my film authentic, we had cast people who
belong to the sub-cult.” The rooster fights were depicted using CGI of course
(it’s not that great; don’t expect the stuff you would see in Hollywood films),
but you’ll find that the entire “fight” time is only around 30 minutes at
the
end of the first half. The real story begins only after that. The first half is
otherwise slow and boring, with too much emphasis given on Karuppu’s
infatuation with Irene, with a couple of colourful and lively songs (which I
didn’t really like).
 |
| Jayapalan as Pettaikaran |
The driving force for the second
part of the story – which is also a common theme in Vetri Maaran’s later films
– is pride. The film is essentially a tale of how everyone’s lives get affected
when pride (or an insult to one’s pride, rather) takes control over your
actions. Another aspect of Vetri Maaran’s films (this one and the three films
after this) I like is the climax – they are never the “happily ever after”
endings. Aadukalam’s climax is one
hinting at an uncertain future for the characters, Vada Chennai is part of a trilogy anyway and Asuran has a bittersweet closing scene.
Dhanush’s role as Karuppu is easily
one of his best – be it a love-smitten romantic or a skilled rooster fighter or
a loyal friend. While Taapsee Pannu’s role gave her a big break, she otherwise
has no value addition to the film. Yes, her character is a catalyst in a number
of ways but certain others could have played that role. This is the film that
brought Naren and Murugadoss to the limelight, both of whom have henceforth
been credited as “Aadukalam Naren” and “Aadukalam Murugadoss” in all their
future films.
Aadukalam makes you feel a myriad of
emotions – sorrow, pity, laughter and so on – and it keeps you engaged
throughout. It might not rank as the best village film in Tamil nor as Vetri
Maaran’s or Dhanush’s best venture, but it is still worth a watch or two.
My Rating: 3.5/5
