Comparisons are inevitable when we hear that a certain Hollywood thriller has inspired an Indian adaptation made to fit the sensibilities of the local audience, especially the fans of the superstar leading the film. Anyone who has been closely following Ajith's work must've heard that his new film Vidaamuyarchi has a connection to the 1997 Kurt Russell starrer Breakdown. Now, with this information, there is always a tendency to see if the "remake" does justice to the original — or, if it's not as good as the original, at least comes close.
It's difficult for anyone watching a remake to detach it from the memory of the original; it's difficult to pretend to be someone who is hearing a particular idea for the first time. Here's what works in Vidaamuyarchi: For starters, it doesn't suffer from the same problems that plagued Ajith's most recent films like Valimai or Thunivu. There's no overdose of the 'family' sentiment. There are no scenes where Ajith is trying hard to be a comedian. There's no heavy, forced preachiness about giving a second chance to hardcore criminals.
Vidaamuyarchi, directed by Magizh Thirumeni, offers some relief in that it tries to tap into Ajith's softer, romantic side, or, to be more specific, the chemistry between him and Trisha that worked so well in the duo's last outing Yennai Arindhaal.
I'm not saying that their chemistry in Vidaamuyarchi is as impactful, but it's nice to see the film taking a brief moment to look like a lovely perfume ad before it gets to the pyrotechnics. There are a couple of reasons the Ajith-Trisha chemistry is not as charming as in the Gautham Menon film. The first is a storytelling reason, which makes sense. The second, however, has to do with the film's unnecessary tendency to experiment with a non-linear presentation of how this couple met, their cute or awkward moments, and how their relationship has progressed over the course of 12 years.
There's nothing wrong with opting for a 'flashback within a flashback' format, but it creates some brief continuity confusion. The same goes for its tendency, in a couple of places, to withhold a small piece of information before moving on to the next scene and later showing the little bit that was skipped earlier. This approach calls attention to itself and doesn't quite enhance the storytelling. Sometimes, it's better to keep things simple.
Speaking of simplicity, I would say it was one of the strengths of the Kurt Russell film because despite being a big star, Russell has this relatable everyman quality that he brings to some of his characters, just like Bruce Willis did in the Die Hard films or Matt Damon in the Jason Bourne films. Those action films worked so well because when the actor plays the hero as a vulnerable character, it looks convincing, whereas with something like Vidaamuyarchi, the main problem is that it wants to be a Kurt Russell film and a Liam Neeson film at the same time. The attempt at fusing these two sensibilities doesn't really work.
And no matter how many times Ajith appears helpless and vulnerable, there's always the sense at the back of our mind that his character, Arjun, would at some point beat the living hell out of all his opponents and emerge victorious, which was not the case with the Kurt Russell film because, in that film, the main character isn't someone with a lot of resources or swag. When Russell showed us his character's desperation, we bought it. In the case of Vidaamuyarchi, though, a lot of squinting doesn't help when its leading man has been preoccupied lately with playing near-superheroic characters.
However, I wouldn't call Vidaamuyarchi an exact copy of Breakdown, because the film has some interesting tweaks, most notably with the characterisation of the group of criminals terrorising Ajith. There is an attempt to create a backstory for its two main villains — here, too, we sense another popular Hollywood inspiration.
Arjun Sarja fits comfortably into the shoes of a worthy antagonist for someone of Ajith's stature. Regina Cassandra gets to have fun with a complex character without overdoing it. There's a brief stretch where one character narrates stories that didn't really happen, but perhaps one of those stories could've been actualised to make Vidaamuyarchi a more interesting film.
For example, Ajith's character often comes across as this holier-than-thou guy, and I wished the writing had opted for an approach that leaned more towards the greyer shade to add more intrigue and balance when compared to how Trisha's character is written. Perhaps this could be Ajith's way of saying this is how a man should behave in a particular situation.
Having said that, the action in Vidaamuyarchi is neatly done, except for that one jarring attempt at a dark, Guy Ritchie-style humour when Ajith breaks into the home of a local family. Of course, there's going to be the question of how this affluent businessman is able to do all those insane stunts, but this is, after all, an Ajith film! Cinematographer Om Prakash makes good use of the foreign terrain — the Azerbaijan locations have been shot in a way that conjures a dystopian environment in certain places.
However, when the film makes its hero look more formidable than its inspiration, it slightly dilutes the impact created by the original story. The sense of urgency is sorely lacking in this one. As I said earlier, sometimes, the 'less is more' approach is better.
Film: Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Cast: Ajith, Trisha, Arjun Sarja, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 2.5/5