Velaiyilla Pattathari

In Velaiilla Pattadhari, we see Dhanush being criticized by his father for being jobless, doted on by his mother, pitied by the heroine and underrated by the villain. In essence, he is playing a role that he has played many times in his 25-films-old career. The plot, too, is a mixture of the relationship drama in his brother Selvaraghavan's films and our regular masala films, in which the David-like hero takes on the Goliath-like villain and brings him down to his knees. And, yet, the film feels fresh and Velraj (the cinematographer making his directorial debut) superbly manages to strike a balance between the emotional and mass hero moments.

Raghuvaran (Dhanush) is a jobless youngster, who wants to take up only the job of a civil engineer, as that is what he has studied for. His unemployment is a reason for his father ( Samuthirakani) to berate him, more so because his brother, Karthik ( Hrishikesh), who is three years younger, is comfortably employed. The only support for him comes from his mother Bhuvana (Saranya) and Shalini ( Amala Paul), the girl next door, who gets why he wants only his dream job. A tragedy leads to Raghu finally catching a break and he is entrusted with a major project. However, the envious and arrogant scion of a rival developer ( Amitesh) is plotting to scuttle his plans and take over the project himself.

The first half of the film is its beating heart and Velraj nicely sets up the relationships between the characters. Raghuvaran's household is quite realistic and the interactions between the flesh-and-blood characters natural. When Raghu's mother comforts him in an earlier scene, she does so with a mixture of pride (he has designed a telescope-like object all by himself to ogle at the heroine) and hope that mothers usually have for their children. When he has a showdown with his father, we see how a normal argument can spill over into something bigger (Resenting the constant comparisons with his brother, he retorts that his parent...