Vetrimaran directs a compelling and engrossing tale of love, friendship, ego and betrayal surrounding the rooster fight scene in Madurai. The script is honestly original with strong characterizations exploring the shades of grey in humans. The attention to details, especially around the rooster fight makes it so interesting to watch. Dhanush steals the show as karuppu, living the character and oozing life on screen. Jayabalan as Pettaikaaran and the rest of cast were good. Songs and bgm by GV Prakash were top notch. Overall, it is a well crafted deeply rooted intense rural drama that is highly recommended.
curdled masculine honor and pride amongst warring madurai cock-fighting dynasties, the hard-won bonds of a found family breaking at the surprising triumph of one of its youngest members. what starts off as slightly jumpy and over-eager gradually shifts into something with real weight and power, the final night time images of the heavy willows and a bloody knife thrown into the water more than fulfilling the ambition of vetri maran's early gestures. not perfect no but all the more striking for it.
aadukalam has a lot of things i usually avoid in a movie: animal cruelty, domestic abuse, a tiny bit of a problematic romance, egoistical characters- but it really worked for me (except the cruel stuff because wtf) because i could not tear my eyes away from the screen! the parts when karuppu spoke english were funny ("unakku enna venum?" "balls" HELLO?), the songs were AMAZING, and the plot really carried. it makes sense that dhanush won an award for this movie because his character really makes you root for him- he's humble and just wanted to prove himself and he does just that. IM JUST REALLY HAPPY I REWATCHED THIS MOVIE WITH GOOD QUALITY THIS TIME!
Reminded me of winchester '73 in that it uses a plot element (cockfighting here) as an overt figurative device to examine masculinity, specifically male insecurity; we see vetrimaaran honing his formal and narrative craft, from the gliding/disorienting tracking shots and colored light configurations that he further capitalizes on in Visaranai, to the dense (almost novelistic) plot machinations and meticulous detailing of ancillary characters that are central to Vada Chennai
Vetri Maaran's "Aadukalam" is inconsistent and incoherent in its narrative that tries to mix class-difference romance with a gritty drama about personal prejudice, ego, jealousy in the backdrop of rooster fight. It is understandable to have song numbers and romantic drama to spice up the drama, but Vetri Maaran's inexperience in handling the romantic subplot is quite evident here. He has come a long way since then, and he managed to get it right in "Asuran", giving his female protagonist space within the realm of the film.