Killadi (2015)

Where does A Venkatesh figure among masala movie makers who have been prolific over the past decade? KS Ravikumar is known for his collaborations with big stars, Lingusamy gives us mass elements in a glossy package, and Hari's films have the breakneck speed (even if it's mostly the ramped up cinematography and hyper editing) going for them. Even with someone like Perarasu, we get moments that are unintentionally funny. But Venkatesh tends to play it straight and safe that his films are largely nondescript that we hardly remember them after exiting the theatre.

In Killadi, Dharani ( Bharath, who tries hard to be taken seriously as a mass hero), an intrepid college student, drops Anjali (a bland Nila), who is running away from home to escape a marriage with her rowdy uncle Bhavani (Vincent Asokan), at the bus stand but Bhavani and her arrogant mother Angayarkanni (Roja trying to do a Sornakka) mistake him for her lover. Now, Dharani and his family become their targets but they hardly realize that he is more than a match for them.

There are far too many influences from Venkatesh's previous work in the film. Like the hero of Dum, Dharani is a fearless young man; as in Aai, Palani forms the backdrop for some portions of the story; like Kuththu, the heroine's side is the antagonist; Vincent Asokan, a regular in his films, is once again the bad guy...

The film is essentially a compendium of the masala movie must-haves — hero introduction song, aggressive hero, his loving family members, damsel-in-distress heroine, kuthu songs disguised as duets, random comedy track (a mildly funny one featuring Vivekh and Cell Murugan) and over-the-top villains. Killadi is the kind of film where if the hero is shopping in the market, you can be assured of a fight. Dharani is the kind of hero who doles out messages of self improvement while performing paal abishekam for his favourite film star. Angayarkkanni is someone who boasts that she has coffee at the collector's house and then breakfast at commissioner's house but will turn into a loving mother seconds after slapping an elderly man. And, Anjali is the kind of girl who will wait till the very end to challenge the villain to a mano a mano with the hero. How we wish she had challenged the villain much earlier!