Veteran director. S.A.Chandrasekar has appeared in supporting roles in a few films . He turned as the lead actor at the age of 70 in last year's 'Touring Talkies' which is also his last directorial venture. With 'Nayyapudai' is the veteran's second attempt in heroics and let's see how this has fared.
Vellaichamay (SAC) is an retired army professional who lives individually in Chennai and takes care of the children from the impoverished families of the neighborhood. With his brave act he saves a public bus taken hostage by the accomplices of a don who has been arrested for smuggling redstanders.
The old man gives refuge to Vijay (Pa.Vijay) a reporter in a prominent Tamil news channel and Chandini Tamizharasan, as they have eloped as a couple.
Meanwhile Vellaichamy crosses swords with the local don (Naan Kadavul Rajendran) by wrecking havoc to some of his criminal activities and a corrupt police officer (M.S.Basker) who is loyal to the don.
The rest is how Vellaichamy with the help of Vijay takes on the dreadful don and uses the corrupt police officer for that.
'Nayyapudai' has been directed by debutante Vijay Kiran while script has been written by SAC. The film attempts to be a modern day version of director Shankar's mega hit flick 'Indian'. This septuagenarian hero single handedly takes on the baddies with the help of media power and the modern technological tools like laptops, smart phones and social media.
The idea which could have been made as a neat entertainer with a powerful message has been spoilt by a week script, amateurish characterization and shallow narration. There seems to be zero care for credibility in the portrayal of events and how the old man and a TV reporter successfully crush a criminal and his dreadful goons. They do this by threatening a police officer with a video recording that will cost his job. These scenes are neither interesting nor entertaining even if we are ready to completely forget logic.
There seems to be no effort to register the background of the villains and why they have to be killed. They are showed as mere caricatures who kill a young boy without any reason.
Nevertheless 'Nayyapudai' is not a film that you cannot sit through. A few interesting ideas and scenes crop up here and there like the pre-interval portions. The scenes exploring the emotional connect between the old man and a gang of children are also likeable to an extent. The 'Thuppakki' reference in the climax fight may be a treat to ardent Ilayathalapathy fans
SAC as the lead actor helps us sit through the film. His leaves a positive impressing in the scenes where he showers affection towards the children and youngsters like a caring father/grandfather. Give his age; his efforts to fit into the fight scenes are also appreciable though the stunts are unbelievable.
M.S.Bhaskar helps to evoke laughter with his kind of dialogues and unique style of delivery. We could not figure out whether Naan Kadavul Rajendran has been cast as the villain or a comedian. It is very sad to see an actor who has been introduced as a dreadful villain by Bala in ‘Naan Kadavul’ being used as a comical villain and fails to make a mark in either of the departments.
Pa.Vijay and Chandini Tamizharasan are adequate for the roles offered to them. The actress has ventured into glamour appearing in skimpy outfits in the song. Stunt choreographer can
None of the songs manage to grab the attention and It is better not to mention about the technical departments like BGM, cinematography and editing
Verdict: An uninspiring film saved to an extent by SAC's acting
