Venghai - Review

Cast	Dhanush, Tamannaah, Rajkiran, Prakashraj. Kalabhavan Mani, Ganja Karuppu
Director	Hari
Story	Hari
Screenplay	Hari
Music	Devi Sri Prasad
Producer	B. Bharathireddy
Banner	Vijaya Productions
Cinematography	Vetri
Editing	V.T. Vijayan
Release Date	July 7, 2011

Director Hari, who is known for his racy screenplays and power packed action sequences, is back in K town with Venghai (which means Lion). For the first time, Hari is teaming up with National award winning actor Dhanush. Pretty lass Tamannaah plays the female lead. The film is produced by B. Bharathi Reddy under Vijaya Productions banner. Apart from wielding the megaphone, Hari has also penned the story and screenplay of Venghai.

What is in it?

Venghai basically narrates the story of three persons: Veera Pandi (Raj Kiran), Rajalingam (Prakashraj) and Selvam (Dhanush). Veera Pandi is a local landlord of Pandiapuram, a village near Sivagangai. He is a do-gooder and the most respected person in that village. His son Selvam is a righteous young man who supports his father in all the good deeds.
Rajalingam, the MLA of Pandiapuram, revolts against his mentor Veera Pandi and his son Selvam, so the cat and mouse game begins... Meanwhile we also see Radhika (Tamannaah), a peace loving person, but a life-altering incident changes her behavior and she chooses the path of violence. Obviously Selvam falls in love with Radhika until he finds out a bitter truth about her family. So what happens next? Watch out for Venghai...

THE PERFORMANCES

Dhanush is at his best! His power packed performance, dialogue delivery and the gripping action sequences make Venghai an interesting watch. However at many place he clearly imitates his father-in-law Superstar Rajinikanth. Tamannaah's deglamourised avatar comes as a surprise element; in Venghai, she has ample scope to perform. As usual, Prakashraj is at his best. Probably he is one of the few actors in India who perform any role with ease. Raj Kiran is dignified and has a solid role to perform. Urvasi, Paarvai Muniamma and Ganja Karuppu have done their parts well.

THE TECHNIQUES

Director Hari has once again delivered a racy action entertainer; though the film moves at a slow pace in the first half, it gains momentum later. Venghai is basically a 80's style film which talks about the joint family system and its values. But Venghai has nothing new to offer; it has a typical Tamil formula (good vs  evil and the good wins). The song sequence and few action sequence reminds us some of Hari's earlier films.
Music by Devi Sri Prasad is just average with the songs 'Yenna Solla Pore' and 'Pudikale Pudikuthu' standing out. Vetri's cinematography and V.T. Vijayan's editing are just perfect.
Another racy entertainer from director Hari with the same old formula!