Director: Vijay Kiran
Cast: SA Chandrashekaran, Pa Vijay, Chandini, MS Bhaskar
'Naiyyapudai' is an action entertainer, which is the story of an individual who wages a war against the evils in the society. Unlike in a normal film where a young hero will essay the ‘individual’, here we get to see 73-year-old ace filmmaker and Vijay's dad SA Chandrashekaran in the lead protagonist role as an action hero.
Velusamy (SAC) is a retired military officer and is a fun-loving person who takes life as it comes. His motto is that ‘age is not a bar when you want to fight against bad elements in the society’. One day, he rescues students who are being hijacked by few thugs for a ransom on a moving bus. The live actions are caught in a video, which goes viral on what’s app. Meanwhile, Vijayakumar (Pa Vijay) a newsreader on a popular TV channel uploads it on his network.
Velusamy turns a hero overnight. But he has to face the wrath of the underworld don Baby Anaconda (Mottai Rajhendran) and a senior cop Sathyamoorthy (MS Bhaskar in a negative role) who is hand in glove with the criminals. Now, Vijayakumar and his radio jockey girlfriend (Chandini) team up with Velu to eradicate the baddies in the society. How they accomplish their goal and teach a lesson to the scheming cop forms the rest.
SA Chandrashekaran should be lauded for taking up an action avatar at this age and he has given a realistic portrayal. In a sense, not going for over-the- top high-octane stunts, the director has utilized him in action sequences, which are convincing. He speaks few punch lines as well. Pa Vijay and Chandini are adequate in their roles. MS Bhaskar in a role with grey shades proves that he is a veteran. Having seen Mottai Rajhendran as a comic villain in recent films, it is hard to digest him as a hardcore criminal. Though the structure of the story is a tried and tested formula in Tamil cinema, had the director incorporated some fresh scenes and interesting elements, it would have turned out to be a better product. Music by Taj Noor is good and goes well with the mood of the genre. Jeevan’s cinematography is just okay.
