'Ayogya' review: Vishal's loud cop film is let down by poor writing The film showcases a series of tropes necessary to explain any action by a Tamil hero - mother sentiment, father sentiment, sister sentiment and wait for it -- Gandhi sentiment. news Kollywood Actor Vishal's latest film Ayogya continues to bother you several minutes after leaving the theatre. But this is mostly because your ears are still ringing after yet another cop film, where the protagonist would rather shout the dialogues than say them. One movie-watcher was even seen rubbing his ears in a distressed manner, claiming that the hero here had surpassed Suriya from Singam 3, in this competition of vocal prowess. As the film's name suggests, the protagonist Karnan, played by Vishal, is most definitely an Ayogyan (fraud). How do I know this? Well, director Venkat Mohan has spent close to two and half hours to drive home the point, only to slide back into the predictable avatar for a Tamil cop. The movie was first made in Telugu as Temper, starring Junior NTR. And while it addresses the issue of sexual violence, the screenplay tires you out before you reach the final message . Vishal plays an inspector who rose into the police ranks through fraud and whose only intention is to make money. His ambition helps him earn the friendship of Chennai goon Kalirajan played by veteran actor Parthiban. Together, they plunder, loot and destroy people's lives. All is well in our anti-hero's life, except for the honest and annoying subordinate Abdul Khadar (KS Ravikumar) who neither salutes the inspector nor does any good by himself. The least he could have done is warn the anti-corruption bureau. But obviously, honest people in this film are also quite stupid. Another stunning example of this is, of course, the female lead played by Raashi Khanna, who while supposedly playing a pivotal role in the protagonist's character development, somehow fails to notice that he is a bad guy. In one scene, he gatecrashes her house demanding to know why she is standing close to another man. And instead of getting alarmed by his behaviour, she promptly falls in love with this certified stalker cop. As a villain, Kalirajan is disappointing. Parthiban is reduced to a joke most of the time, with Vishal probably wreaking more damage in the 'being evil' department than he does. And while this premise sounds interesting, poor writing and dialogues force our tolerance levels to plummet before the much needed interval. For example, one of Vishal's most repeated punch dialogues in the film is - My ego is like Wifi, it surrounds me. Even the villain is stumped by the conviction with which the cop delivers this terrible piece of writing. This is then followed by a series of tropes necessary to explain any action by a Tamil hero - mother sentiment, father sentiment, sister sentiment and wait for it -- Gandhi sentiment. Yes, you read that right. Even the Father of the Nation is not spared. And just when you think the screenplay is finally picking up, as it moves on to speaking of justice in cases of sexual violence, you realise that the director has cast popular potty-mouth Radha Ravi as a High Court judge who sits in on the case. But if you can get past that shocker, the movie finally delivers with a completely unexpected climax. Totally unreal, yes, and a solution that activists on ground have been critiquing for years, but interesting cinematic twist nevertheless. But the real question is, do you have the strength to face the rest of it for the last 15 minutes?<doc-sep>The film made as a potboiler succeeds to a certain extent in being slightly offbeat within the commercial cinema format, only because of the climax. Vishal’s Ayogya is not exactly a scene-to-scene remake of NTR’s Poori Jagannadh-directed Temper (remade in Hindi by Rohit Shetty as Simmba with Ranveer Singh); the climax is stunningly different. Vishal had told his director Venkat Mohan before the shoot that he would do the remake only if the climax is reworked and highlighted the issue that he champions. The film made as a potboiler succeeds to a certain extent in being slightly offbeat within the commercial cinema format, only because of the climax. Vishal is an actor who heads powerful film bodies in Tamil cinema and has ‘political’ ambitions. He has strong viewpoints especially regarding crime against women and has come out vociferously demanding stricter action against perpetrators of rape. And through Ayogya, Vishal argues for death penalty to those who commit rape as he believes currently the laws are lenient and in most cases, they get away scot-free. So, the real life persona and beliefs of Vishal and the reel character Karnan that he plays in the film merge effortlessly. The basic story and treatment is the same as the original. Karnan (Vishal) is an orphan who grew up the hard way and wants to be a policeman at all costs. He wants to be a cop for all the wrong reasons. Finally using dubious methods, he joins the police and becomes corrupt and has hardly any emotions when it comes to money and power. He gets transferred to Chennai on the recommendation of a local gangster Kaalirajan (Parthiepan) and virtually starts working for him and making money. His associate constable (KS Ravikumar), an honest cop with a conscience, tries to correct him on many occasions but fails. His girlfriend Sindhu (Raashi Khanna), who runs a pet care centre, asks him to save a girl from the clutches of Kaali’s men, as her “birthday gift”. Karnan, to please Sindhu, goes out of his way to save the girl, whom his benefactor Kaali wants to be killed at any cost. This incident changes his outlook towards life and he decides to mend his ways. The treatment is loud as the director wants to hammer his point and nothing is left to imagination. The basic theme and transformation of the hero with shades of grey post-interval to a righteous man who provides instant justice has been a favourite theme with filmmakers down south from the 1980’s. As the hero tells the villain at the interval block – “you are going to witness a Karna Thandavam (Karna’s war dance), and this provides the goosebump-inducing moments in the film. Ayogya more or less follows the original version, including the characterisations and locations, till the unexpected climax. Vishal’s character in the film undergoes a transformation for the better, triggered by a rape incident. The actor is a bit over-the-top initially as he wanted to be different from NTR's style but shines in the climax. For Parthiepan, who has done similar comic villain roles, it is a walk in the woods. Raashi Khanna, as the love interest of Vishal, looks fresh though her role is underwritten. KS Ravikumar is impressive as the constable with a conscience. The film could have avoided the unnecessary songs and reduced the running time (150 minutes) to make it racier. Through Ayogya, Vishal and co send out a strong message and offer a solution to recurring incidents of rape in the country. They also point out that the court should speed up such cases and give a verdict as early as possible. Ayogya is hard-hitting action drama that comes out with a powerful and timely message.<doc-sep>As reported earlier about the release of Vishal’s cop action entertainer 'Ayogya' being postponed, has now been released all over. The film was supposed to release on May 10 but got postponed in the last minute due to some unknown reasons. Everyone, including the actor, were also very much disappointed with the news.However, as per the latest update is that the much-awaited film has hit the screens yesterday after crossing all the impediments. This had made all the fans happy. Director Venkat Mohan will be making his directorial debut with this film. B Madhu has produced the film under the banner Lighthouse Movie Makers and the film is a Tamil remake of the popular Telugu film 'Temper'. Screen Scene procured the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights of the film.The film features an ensemble cast including Raashi Khanna, Parthiepan, KS Ravikumar , Pooja Devariya, and Yogi Babu. VI Karthik will be handling the cinematography and Sam CS has given some chart-busting tunes besides scoring the music.<doc-sep>Ayogya works because it is a true copy of an already successful movie, ‘Temper’, in Telugu A Tamil film hero is an interesting study in paradox. He makes lewd remarks at women he’s not scripted to fall in love with, but with the leading lady, he’d turn into the kindest soul in all of humanity. He treats himself to an item song — you know it as that segment in a ‘masala film’ where women are paraded around as sex objects purely to titillate the audience. But within a span of two-and-a-half-hours, he does an ‘andhar bulty’ (Tamil film parlance for an about turn), and sacrifices his life to protect a woman’s honour. With Ayogya, these were the least of my concerns. Don’t get me wrong. Vishal plays the quintessential Tamil film hero. His police inspector Karnan is all that you read above, and some more. But of immediate concern to me was, will Vishal be any louder than in his previous films? I wasn’t disappointed. Ayogya remains faithful to its Telugu original (Temper) for the most part until it doesn’t right at the end. As Karnan, Vishal lives and breathes the corrupt cop but unwarranted exaggeration prevents the character from being truly engaging throughout. The film also has four of the five key elements you’d want to see in a typical commercial film. There are over-the-top fight sequences, an item song, a romance track with a beautiful heroine, and appa, amma, anna sentiment. Ayogya Cast: Vishal, R Parthiepan, Raashi Khanna, Pooja Devariya Vishal, R Parthiepan, Raashi Khanna, Pooja Devariya Story line: A corrupt cop turns over a new leaf, and upholds justice when he comes across a brutal rape and murder case A corrupt cop turns over a new leaf, and upholds justice when he comes across a brutal rape and murder case Director: Venkat Mohan Where the film deviates from the template is comedy. There’s Yogi Babu, but he is in exactly four shots. Instead, we get Parthiepan, who plays an extension of his character from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. We’re led to believe he is the primary antagonist throughout the film, but he neither lands a punch nor takes one from the hero. Such an antithetic villain! Among the elements irrelevant to the plot is Sonia Agarwal, whose brief seems to be, “Find a bunch of microphones, and speak into them”. Perhaps if it was another junior artiste, the role may not have stuck out, but it is Sonia Agarwal, and one wonders about her choice of roles. There are also continuity errors such as Karnan’s preference for singing old Tamil film songs, which he completely forgets to do post intermission. But isn’t it a masala film? Isn’t it right to leave your logical brain at the ticket counter before you enter the screen? I agree. There’s no way a random guy, even if he is a police inspector, can walk into a beach side property, and accost a young girl. Even so, there’s no way the same girl would fall in love with this man when he repeats it, and this time, for added pleasure, threatens a family member. That’s suspending logic. But sample this. You’ve been beaten black and blue, and buried alive by the villain’s army of overweight goondas. Now, not only do you make a comeback to the living world in true WWE style (remember the Undertaker’s buried alive wrestling matches from the late ’90s? ), you’re walking alright the next day, and the only injury you sustained is a minor bruise on your cheek. Really? Even the mighty Thor would have had a few deep cuts. But while Tamil filmmakers continue to struggle to deliver the near perfect commercial movie, Ayogya works because it is a true copy of an already successful template.<doc-sep>
Ayogya Movie Synopsis: An unapologetically corrupt cop realises his mistakes and stands up for a noble cause to ensure that a few criminals get severe punishment. Ayogya Movie Review: The subject of Venkat Mohan’s Ayogya is relevant in today’s times as it deals with a brutal crime against a woman. An average audience can connect to the movie because the incidents in the film have resemblance to some of the crimes that shook the state in the recent times. The story begins with an insane cop, Karnan (Vishal), getting transferred to Chennai from Thoothukudi. His transfer was initiated by Kalirajan (Parthiban), a criminal, who is into various anti-social activities, for his selfish needs. Karnan, who has a self-confessed love for money, takes charge as the inspector and lets Kalirajan’s brothers go scot free. Unfortunately, the brothers engage in unforgiving crime. How this affects the life of a few people and what Karnan undergoes later forms the rest of the story. Vishal is decent as the cop with zero ethics, and Parthiban, as the drug lord who is ready to go to any extent to save his brothers, isn’t bad either. As the movie is a remake, comparisons can’t be avoided completely. Ayogya is more or less the same as its original version (the Telugu film Temper, which was recently remade in Hindi as Simmba, including the characterisations and locations, except for the unexpected climax. The dialogues in the Telugu version are merely translated into Tamil in most of the scenes, and so, this film may not appeal to those who had watched the original. Vishal’s over-the-top performance has shades of Jr NTR’s in the Telugu version. Raashi Khanna manages to do what Kajal Aggarwal had portrayed, but KS Ravikumar’s portrayal of an honest cop should have been more engaging. The fight sequences are interestingly shot while the music is okayish. The big plus for the film is its time of release as it helps audience relate to the film because of the real-life events. The uncompromising climax, too, is likely to go down well with viewers. It conveys the message without being preachy and underlines the importance of court giving their verdict immediately for sensitive cases.