Vijayakanth's films can never be highbrow. And to be fair to him, he never promises them in the first place. You go to a Vijayakanth film just as kid would go to a theme park --- for fun and easy excitement. For cerebral ideas, there is always an art house or a Kamal movie.
Having got this premise clear, it is easy to watch (and to a certain extent appreciate) Perarasu as it delivers what it sets out to --- some racy entertainment with typical Vijayakanth bravado. Of course, with him being an MLA, the dialogues more punches and power. But the formula remains intact ----- an honest and upright force up against the collective might of venal and vengeful elements. Here Vijayakanth provides you a double bill as he has a double. The plot has an element of suspense (though not too difficult to guess) and the new director Udayan works the story on a racy script and keeps you interested all through. Vijayakanth, as a CBI sleuth and also as a revenge-seeking twin brother, flies around, mauling the malcontents. But mercifully the blood doesn't splatter.
The story doesn't tax you much with too many twists. Kasi Viswanath (Vijayakanth) is a man of integrity. An upright CBI officer, he takes up the challenge of investigating the sudden disappearance of a judge (Nasser). Viswanath has for company two funny assistants (Anand Raj and Pandiaraj). Then there is also the cutie (Damini) who is head over heels on the CBI man.
Viswanath zeroes in on the fount of all problems. It turns out to be a cartel headed by the evil Minister Ilakiyam (Prakash Raj). Three venal cops help him. But soon enough, one by one, each of them is bumped off. Every one doubts Viswanath to be behind the killings. But actually, it turns out that Viswanath's twin brother ---Perarasu --- does it all. But why? Well he has a score to settle. Their father (Sarath Babu) had been killed by the evil men and Perarasu had seen it all.
So Viswanath is after Perarasu, does he succeed before Ilakiyam is killed? Watch it for the interesting climax.
It is Vijayakanth all the way. You know the territory and he revels in it thoroughly. There is also energy to his performance. Prakash Raj as the bumbling Minister who is also evil is good. But he goes over the top at times.
Damini, like all Vijayakanth film heroines, has little to do. Anand Raj also acquits himself very well.
The music is of the okay variety. The camera and editing are very crisp and add value to the movie.
Udayan on the whole knows what he has attempted. He has taken ideas from various movies. In the end, the cloth he has stitched looks an agreeable quilt work.
