Vedikettu review: A saga of oppressed Vs higher class which eventually loses momentum

When a movie opens showing the statues of social reformers Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali, questions like does it deal with a sensitive subject or are these just a gimmick in a mainstream movie do come to one’s mind.

Well, Vedikettu has references to casteism which, however, is not discussed widely when compared to Tamil films like Karnan, Asuran, etc.

As the name suggests, it is a loud movie with furious people in two neighbouring villages — Karungotta and Manjapra — fighting each other for silly reasons, based mostly on caste differences.

Love, comedy, folk songs, temple festivals, weddings, fights, and stalking are some of the flavours added to the movie to make it a popular cinema.

Chaos yet message-oriented

Vedikettu is directed by Bibin George and Vishnu Unnikrishnan, both actor-scriptwriters. Their attempt to make a commercial film has references from yesteryear directors and new age ones.

Chaos exists throughout the film — from the start to the end — which the filmmakers might have taken from IV Shashi and Shaji Kailas’ films.

Bibin George and Vishnu Unnikrishnan helmed the central characters of the movie. Apart from them, all others are newcomers.

The plot is based on the love affair between a man of upper caste and a girl of lower caste.

The girl hails from a fictional village named Karungotta. It’s an underdeveloped area without even a concrete electric post.

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In Kerala, it’s a rare sight to see a wooden electric post, unless there is any technical difficulty like geographical conditions. Even the villagers are portrayed as those who have an aversion to development.

The script gives importance largely to loud dialogue followed by a background score to make the audience sit through the movie.

Multiple layers are explored in the movie, but everything is incomplete.

Many characters, lots of incidents, twists and turns, tragedy, and finally, a message is delivered at the end.

There isn’t a proper connection between many scenes. Even in comedy scenes, continuation to an earlier scene comes just before the climax. This would have worked if the movie would not focus on many subjects.

Instant package

The name of the movie gives the impression that Vedikettu is based on some festival or it’s a fight movie. But it is an instant package with a runtime of 2 hours 38 minutes.

An age-old love story similar to Romeo and Juliet placed in two rival villages and the dramatic events that lead to a novel concept of transplantation.

The climax is important but the eventful journey of the characters to reach that point was a tedious one; at some point, for viewers also. More details on this would be a spoiler.

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The script has given innumerable instances for the directors to perform. And they both did their roles very well.

Vishnu Unnikrishnan with a thick beard was good in his tough character as Shibu.

But their earlier scripts for Kattapanayile Ritwik Roshan and Amar Akbar Antony remain better than Vedikettu.

An overdose of various elements in the movie is the reason for this. The movie could have spoken more about casteism similar to Kammatipadam. But the efforts of the makers have to be appreciated for referring to casteism.

The songs are rendered by a bunch of new singers. They are all good, especially folk songs.

The two villages, the life of common people, and the backwaters, all are captured superbly by Ratheesh Ram.

Verdict

Vedikettu talks strongly about casteism but diverts to different subjects making it less impactable on the sensitive topic. It also loses the connection while dealing with a novel idea but the efforts have to be appreciated.

(Views expressed are personal.)