Review of Vedham

Introduction

After acting, script writing, producing & directing action orientated movies like Jai Hind (1995) and Thaayin Manikkodi (1997), Arjun now ventures into acting, script writing, producing & directing a soft romantic tale Vedham (2001). Quite a task for one person to achieve and Arjun, despite some minor flaws in the film, achieves a tale that is warm and a delight to view. The film has two tales, one told in flashback and one told in present and both intertwine with each other in a very neat way. The first tale looks at the perfect romance and marriage of a young couple. The second tale looks another couple that have been married for only six months and after a misunderstanding now want a divorce.

The idea behind this film of the two tales makes it the sole reason to watch film, and does become the main anchorage. Sure the sweet tales has much Indian ideology that suggests Indian marriages is an institute that have tough rules to adhere to. At times the film can also become advocative, yet there is some reasoning behind such scenes. While we might not agree to them it is nice to see how people who believe in them think and arrive at such conclusions. The (to-be) divorce couple scenario is handled in a way that compliments Ajrun sense of screenplay writing. Never does the film blame either couple for there misunderstand of each other nor for their reasons for divorce. Instead he looks at their issues as a middleman rather then taking sides.

Dialogues in this film are also very well spoken, like the opening scene that describes echoes as life “what we do now…reflects upon us later”. The film is very low budget yet production values are nice. The film has a nice soundtrack composed by Vidyasagar, and some great action sequences provided by Arjun (so his fans who expect some form of action from the actor won’t be disappointed). Breathtaking cinematography in some scenes also make this project above par. Editing of the two stories are good, but some mistakes of editing scenes within them can be seen. Since the film was low budget the sound was shot in mono, which was a shame as most Tamil movies are now done in DTS 6 track, and I feel this was a missed opportunity.

If there were one flaw in the movie then it would be the character of Pooja (played by Mumtaz) who portrays a sex-starved girl. It seemed awkward in a film of family values to have a small side plot of a character like Pooja. Thankfully it is brief and not as vulgar so family audience can enjoy the whole film without worrying too much.

Performances from the whole cast is commendable (with exception to Mumtaz who is a poor dolled-up actress). But it is Arjun I fully enjoyed. His acting and character makes this film gripping from start to finish and it is quite amazing how a man who did so much in the production of this film can still look fresh and alive on screen. Overall it’s a nice family entertainer that gets the thumbs up from me!

Video

The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1, in an anamorphic transfer. While cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, cropping is never an issue. Much of the frame is covered. The picture quality is quite good. Compression artefacts and film grain is not present, making the picture detail shine. Sharpness is not weak nor overly. Its just right and coveys much information with ease.

Colour saturation is bold and vivid throughout the whole film. At times it seems quite strong but I am assuming the film was shot like that to make it appeal to family audiences (who see all Indian films in a similar manner). While it is strong there are no signs of any colour distortion or of any colour bleeding. Dark details are good, while contrast details are well balanced.

Wear and tear is evident in every scene but they aren’t as distracting since they arrive in forms in tiny white dots. Strangely the DVD manages to look fresh despite the film dirt.

Audio

The sound on the DVD player states 5.1, but this disc is presented in the film original soundtrack 1ch mono. Only the centre channel seems to be active. Thankfully the sound is preserved as according to the original format. But the mono track at times seems inaudible and low. Dialogues aren’t as clear. I would assume that the sound was original recorded like this since the DVD soundtrack was done from its original audio stems. The film being produced on a low budget one also suggests to me that the sound problem on this disc is something no one can do anything about.

I did watch the film on VCD and VHS (mastered from a 35mm cinema print) to see if it was the same sound problem was detected. In fact it was worse! So while the DVD sound isn’t as good as other mono tracks, it represents the film as it was shot.

Features

Again this is a bare bones disc from Ayngaran, which is another missed opportunity. It would have been great if they could have got film-maker and actor Arjun to talk a bit about the film as it was a special project of his that was a success on cinemas around the world. The DVD menus average and are of easy navigation. Optional English subtitles are provided but the grammar and translation used is poor at times.

Conclusion

The film is worthy to be in your collection of Tamil or Indian DVD’s if interested in a watching a film that would put a smile on your face. This DVD helped to put an extra smile on my face, despite the poor use of English subtitles and lack of extras. Must for your collection.