Sreedhar Pillai

It has been nearly two years since the last Ajith film released. Now, with Vivegam, he is back as an international secret agent and a one-man demolition squad in this thriller helmed by his favourite director Siva. Vivegam is a slickly made film, which engages Ajith’s fans with non-stop action, keeping the star’s larger than life, macho, hero image in mind.

Siva had depended on brotherly and sisterly sentiments in his earlier Ajith films like Veeram and Vedalam. This time he limited the sentiments to husband and wife bonding, making it resemble a stylish Hollywood spy thriller, without minimal Tamil mass cinema elements.

Vivegam has a wafer thin storyline but is laced with what Siva calls “theatre moments” or scenes where fans will clap and whistle with joy. These sequences glorify Ajith, as he walks and talks stylishly mouthing punch lines in English and Tamil, with huge action set pieces that make him look invincible.

Interested in the story? Here goes; the film begins with Ajay Kumar alias AK (Ajith), an upright and fierce agent working for a counter terrorism agency set in Eastern Europe, is suspected to have gone rouge. AK is totally devoted and madly in love with his wife (Kajal Aggarwal), who is expecting their first baby.

AK‘s close buddy is Arayan (Vivek Oberoi) and in a mission they have to capture Natasha (Akshara Haasan), a brilliant hacker who has codes to launch deadly nuclear weapons. During the mission AK gets betrayed by his trusted colleagues including Arayan, who frames him. How AK fights back and takes revenge forms rest of this predictable yarn.

Vivegam showcases Thala Ajith as a never-seen-before action hero.

He is in top form, looks deadly and has pulled off some terrific, high-octane action sequences including a shirt–ripping climax fight with the villain. Vivek Oberoi as the antagonist is appealing in the first half but post-interval his characterisation goes weak, as he ends up hyping the hero character and gives into the commercial tropes.

Kajal Aggarwal is good in a limited role that has an impact while Akshara Haasan does justice to her short but crucial appearance. Karunakaran is engaging as a translator who appears in the first half of the film.

Anirudh Ravichander’s music and background score is one of the major highlights of the film, along with some stunning visuals by cameraman Vetri. Mounted on a lavish scale, the entire film has been shot in Eastern Europe and the action scenes are well choreographed. A bike-chase scene featuring Ajith is adrenaline pumping and shot superbly.

Vivegam is largely targeted at Ajith fans, and lacks logic. The film should have been better written and the climax is hurried. If you are looking for an action entertain with youe favourite star, it is worth a look.

RATINGS: 3/5