Asuran (2019)

English translation: Demon

Director: Vetri Maaran

Screenplay: Mani Maaran and Vetri Maaran (based on the novel by Poomani)

Cast: Dhanush, Manju Warrier

Music: G. V. Prakash Kumar

Time: 139 minutes

Bottom-line: Starts out well but fails to have an impact

Vetri Maaran’s fourth collaboration with Dhanush, Asuran, is a revenge drama for which I had high hopes. The film stars Dhanush and Manju Warrier in the lead roles, with Naren, Ken Karunas, Teejay Arunasalam, Pasupathy and Prakash Raj in the supporting roles.

Sivasaami (Dhanush), his wife Pachaiammal (Warrier), her brother Murugesan (Pasupathy), sons Chidambaram (Karunas) and Velmurugan (Arunasalam) live in Thekkoor village. A rich landlord from the Vadakkoor village, Narasimhan (Naren) wants to seize the lands of the Thekkoor farmers to build a cement factory. This begins a series of actions – involving public humiliation and brutal murders – taken by the families of Sivasaami and Narasimhan against each other, to “save their honour”. Sivasaami seems to be humble and peace-loving – and hence, decides to flee the village with his family – while his sons want to take the aggressive route. Soon, they get to know Sivasaami’s past – a tale revealing his true colours.

 

Dhanush as Sivasaami

Asuran can be thought of as a village gangster flick – it’s essentially a tale of two families pitted against each other. While the premise seems exciting, by the time you finish watching, you realise that Asuran is the same story twice – once in the flashback of Sivasaami and once again in the last 20 minutes of the film (except that Dhanush has a bigger moustache and a beard in the climax). The idea of the protagonist having a violent past followed by a “new life” is not new in Tamil cinema either; different films have portrayed it in different ways (like Baashha, Ramanaa, Ghajini etc.).

 

Warrier as Pachaiammal

The film does well in the technical aspects, especially the background score. The cinematography is excellent too, with good use of slow-motion. But be prepared to have a couple of stomach-turning scenes of graphic gore and violence. Dhanush’s acting is top-notch; he plays the saviour of the family who is willing to indulge in a bloodbath to avenge his family, he plays the humble and pitiable family man who prefers to be humiliated just to avoid violence. The way he maintains the balance between keeping calm but still protecting his family from harm is admirable – in terms of his character, Sivasaami, and his performance.

I don’t fancy the idea of one hero battling a dozen thugs simultaneously but there’s plenty of that here. If all it takes for the calm and composed Sivasaami to turn violent again is for the Vadakkoor folks to attack his son (which is anyway expected), then the film seems to give a message that violence is the answer to everything. However, the climax overwrote that message, with Sivasaami’s parting words to his son having a resounding effect.

Asuran is a pretty good entertainer, but there are a number of contradicting factors which make the story go off track. The portrayal of an ominous atmosphere is effective, and the rustic setting automatically makes you associate raw emotions with the characters. Watch the film for Dhanush’s performance, and take in the message given in the last scene.

My Rating: 2.5/5