Chekka Chivantha Vaanam Review: This Mani Ratnam film is an engaging battle between brothers

Director Mani Ratnam is a master when it comes to executing familiar yet intriguing stories about families and relationships, reinventing it to a film so fresh, that you seem like you’ve lived through the film with the characters. His films make you feel unmindful of the fact there are A-list actors and stars in them inspite of which all you see is the director’s vision to tell a terrific story. With his 26th film Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, Mani Ratnam once again takes on this route – only this time, he does it with a multi-star cast and a screenplay which establishes the film as a solid-commercial entertainer.

Chekka Chivantha Vaanam revolves around Senapathy, a gangster and his three sons, Varathan (Aravind Swami), Thyagu (Arun Vijay) and Ethi (Simbu). The story takes a twist when Senapathy gets almost gets killed, this is when his sons begin to find out. The film travels on two intriguing questions. The first one is: who shot Senapathy and the second one is: if he dies, who will be his successor?

The film’s strength lies in the fact that it strictly travels along these questions – which makes it like a whodunnit. What makes it more enjoyable is the inclusion of Rasool (Vijay Sethupathi), a police officer, and a family friend, whose quirkiness adds a different approach to the film.

When a film has so many talented actors involved, there are chances that these characters never have something solid written for them, or that it the film takes too long to get to the plot. However, this film doesn’t go wrong with this. Despite it taking the entire first half to establish the nature of the characters, the second half of the film shows why that was necessary to do so. The character arch in the film is varied for each of the film’s lead actors. For instance, take the case of Varathan. When we first see him, he has a scene where he kidnaps, shoots and threatens two men. One may assume that he is the sort of person, who is feared in the Senapathy household. But as the film progresses, you get to know the internal conflict of the character. It’s layered so well. That you look through his demonic-behavior and show a sense of vulnerability. This is seen in the parts when he breaks down to his wife, Chitra (Jyothika).

His brothers, Thyagu and Ethi are a lot different than him. While Thyagu is a business-minded individual with a ‘devil
May care’ attitude, Ethi, is someone who is detached from his family, carefree in a world of his own. It’s interesting to see how these there brothers display these varied shades in the film. Resool (Vijay Sethupathi) also has a very Vikram-Veda feel to his character that reminds you of a good cop and bad cop.

However, what was, confusing were a few unanswered questions about these people. For instance, how did Ethi become violent? How and why does Thyagu conspire to kill one of his siblings?

The film feels a bit irrelevant when it derails when the brothers hunt each other and prolong the second half of the film. The film also reminds of The Godfather.

Once your attention gets away from the main plot of the film, you begin to notice other scenes in the film, which don’t exactly drive the plot but are essential to the story. For example, when tragedy strikes the newly-wed couple, and Varathan’s reason for having an affair. The film is loaded with action sequences and angry men who simply battle it out. The only woman who gets a solid role in the film is Jyothika. She’s amazing, expressing terrific command in her body language. She is effortless. The choice of colors of her sarees (she’s mostly in black with costume by Eka Lakhani) displays a sense of anger, mystery. I am not sure if it was intentional. While Aditi Rao’s character is like a pixie angle who sprinkles magic dust on every frame she is in, Aishwarya Rajesh looks fashionable but has very little to do, Dayana Erappa gives a very model-like (duh-she is a model in real life) feel to her role.

Among the performances, Arvind Swami is very good, especially in the emotional scenes. Arun Vijay oozes flamboyance and confidence as the class rich business. Simbu delivers a fresh approach, that has negative shades to his character. Vijay Sethupathi brings a natural light and quirky twist to his character. While Prakash and Jayasudha prove why they are veterans. A. R. Rahman’s music blends perfectly with the film, especially the background score. Santosh Sivan’s camera work stands out, stages each scene and defines each scene.

Watch Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, if you are looking for a good commercial entertainer. Mani Ratnam proves why he is the master of interesting storytelling – even if may seem like a new spin, on an old story.