Devarattam

Devarattam is a 2019 Indian Tamil action drama film written and directed by M. Muthaiah and produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja. The film stars Gautham Karthik, Manjima Mohan, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan and Soori in lead roles. The film's soundtrack is composed by Nivas K. Prasanna with editing done by A. Sreekar Prasad and cinematography by Sakthi Saravanan. The film released on 1 May 2019. It received mixed reviews but became a box office success.

Plot
Vetri (Gautham Karthik) lives in a joint family with six sisters and their husbands. He has been brought up by his eldest sister Pechi (Vinodhini Vaidyanathan), and their relationship is more like a mother and son. Vetri has an anger problem and gets into unnecessary fights, but everybody in the family loves him as he is the first advocate in their family. However, soon he takes the law in his hands when he murders a sexual offender - his friend (Karthik Kumar) who happens to be the son of Madurai’s dreaded gangster, Kodumpavi Ganesan (FEFSI Vijayan). Ganesan swears revenge and promises to kill Vetri just like he murdered his son in the streets of Madurai in broad daylight.

Cast

 * Gautham Karthik as Vetri
 * Manjima Mohan as Madhu
 * Soori as Vetri’s 4th brother-in-law
 * Vinodhini Vaidyanathan as Pechi, Vetri’s 1st sister
 * Bose Venkat as Vetri’s 1st brother-in-law
 * FEFSI Vijayan as Ganesan
 * Karthik Kumar as Ganesan’s son
 * Vela Ramamoorthy as Vetri’s father
 * Prabhu as Madhu's father
 * Akalya Venkatesan

Reception
The story and presentation are as old as the hills of Kodaikanal and look similar to the plot of M. Muthaiah’s previous films. The film’s core issue is borrowed from the recent Pollachi sexual assault case. What works for the film is Gautham Karthik’s lively performance as the angry, young lawyer Vetri. With Devarattam, M. Muthaiah gives Gautham Karthik a chance to shed his urban lover boy image and become a mass rural action hero. But to project him as a one-man army taking on a hefty villain seems a little far-fetched. Manjima Mohan looks good on screen but hardly has any impactful scenes. Vinodhini Vaidyanathan as the hero’s elder sister does a neat job, especially in the climax. Nivas K. Prasanna’s music is hummable and Sakthi Saravanan’s camera is attention grabbing.

The film has a pacy first half, but the tempo drops in the second half as the story progresses towards a predictable climax. In the end, Devarattam seems like just another film which shows Madurai as a traditional land that is also a blood-soaked, lawless place where cops and gangsters are hand in glove.

Soundtrack
This film’s soundtrack is composed by Nivas K. Prasanna. With lyrics written by Yugabharathi, Magizh Thirumeni, Vivek, and Pa. Vijay