Aadukalam (2011)

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.

 

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.

 

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

Jayapalan as Pettaikaran

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).

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