Viduthalai Part 1 is a powerful sociopolitical depiction of a battle for liberty in Vetri Maaran's film.

The story takes place in a forest in Tamil Nadu in the 1980s when a rebel army is engaged in guerilla warfare with the authorities over the arrival of a major business.

In order to give the state a reputation for being business-friendly, the police were tasked with dismantling this force, which was directed by a man by the name of Perumal, also known as Vaathiyar.

Throughout the movie, we see the police chase for Perumal, the People's Force, and the brutality that befell those who sympathised with Perumal.

Vetrimaaran casts some really intriguing roles.

The choice to cast Gautham Vasudev Menon in a significant part is brilliant.

A director whose previous works celebrated police deaths now portrays a cop in a film that brutally exposes police violence.

It makes sense to cast Vijay Sethupathi as Vaathiyar.

Despite his lengthy cameo, he makes the biggest impression in those passages.

The role of the women, who take the brunt of the abuse, is what makes Viduthalai at times unsettling, and Bhavani Sre is a talent to watch out for.

The story is presented by the director as a straightforward tale of good men versus bad men, but there are a lot of layers that emerge as the movie goes on, including relationships between politicians and corporations, how politicians shape social narratives, the brutality of police officers, caste politics, and an unsustainable romance.

These layers are what give the movie its beauty, and there are some situations that flow so easily that you only realise their significance much afterwards, just like the actor in the scene.

We are led to assume that Kumaresan is a real person by Soori.

We start rooting for Kumaresan because Soori told the media in the days before the movie's premiere that Vetrimaaran picked him because he perceived "innocence" in his face.

He is not merely the picture of innocence, though.

He also has a strong sense of what is right and wrong.

Because the gullible constable thinks he hasn't done anything wrong, he refuses to apologise to the camp's leader Ragavendar (Chethan).

You are not at all fit for police service, a colleague officer informs Kumaresan after observing his disobedience.

It is not righteousness that sustains this power structure, but unconditional submission.

Kumaresan, a follower of Saint Vallalar's teachings, is unable to apologise for this reason.

No matter the suspect's gender, every interrogation includes stripping down and physical abuse.

Therapy ah aarambinga (Begin the treatment)," mumbles Ragavendar.

That merely suggests that they have a set of methods for torturing—as if they were taken straight out of a textbook.

It's the same as when Vetrimaaran asked us to define the term "organised crime."

The violence that is depicted in Viduthalai repeatedly is its only annoying feature.

Vetri depicts a lot of brutality even before the film's upsetting end, leaving us quickly numb.

Perhaps it is the key idea.

Viduthalai intentionally triggers because it should.

Cast of Viduthalai: Vijay Sethupathi, Soori, Gautham Menon, and Chethan

Director of the video: Vetrimaaran

Score: 3.5/5