When words overpower feeling

IN Viduthalai Part 2, a film that leans more on thought than emotion, more on words than feelings, my favourite portion is a brief, tender exchange between Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi) and Mahalakshmi (Manju Warrier).

- SUDHIR SRINIVASAN

They are united by their disillusionment with life and society. Mahalakshmi has almost adopted the appearance of a man (and we later learn why), while Perumal, when tentatively reaching out to her about the prospect of a relationship, stammers and stutters, unsure of himself. Vetrimaaran beautifully allows Mahalakshmi time to respond to Perumal's proposal, time to think, time in which to give us a beautiful Ilaiyaraaja song. And when you hear his melody, love, expectedly, blooms.

Vijay Sethupathi is uniquely gifted in such spaces—shedding any baggage of masculinity and embracing tenderness with ease (think 96). Watch him in a scene after the interval, when Mahalakshmi, now growing her hair again, blossoms under his gaze. Sethupathi flashes a smile so tender it could melt stone. This fleeting love story is the emotional heartbeat of Viduthalai Part 2, and for me, its most compelling stretch. This love story, however, is but a side quest in a film that occupies protagonists between the two parts. In Viduthalai Part 1, Soori's Kumaresan led the story, while Vijay Sethupathi's Vaathiyaar was in the background. Here, the roles reverse. This means that the film must now draw us into Vaathiyaar's world—a man far more verbose, far more eager to rebellion. Where Kumaresan was quietly conscientious, Vaathiyaar is full of speech and action, which the film is sometimes guilty of overusing, especially the former. Even when in action, he's full of words—which, of course, is his preferred choice of weapon, it seems.