Director: Suraj
Cast: Vadivelu, Sanjana Singh, Shivani Narayanan
Vadivelu might go by the moniker Vaigai Puyal among fans. But in the vast landscape of Tamil pop culture, he goes by various others — all characters from his illustrious wall of fame — with delightful prefixes. Contractor Nesamani, Encounter Ekambaram, Snake Babu, and Naai Sekar to name a few. The last in the list — Vadivelu’s character from Suraj’s Thalai Nagaram (2006) — is the subject of the director’s latest comedy, which is also the lionised comedian’s comeback vehicle. But barring its title, the film has little to nothing to do with the vintage Vadivelu that we all love.
Like the OG Naai Sekar, a rowdy with a nose ring and a lot of kinks, the new and improved Naai Sekar too is a ruffian of some kind. In Suraj’s Naai Sekar Returns, the comedian is a dog-napper who roams around in garish shirts and capri pants. The film treats the comedian with demigod status, as early as his introduction shot — this is interspersed with a glowing montage of some of his classic funnyman roles. And I’m not complaining, and neither are the scores of fans in the houseful cinema, cheering on the 60-year-old they grew up laughing in the aisles with. But with Suraj’s film making the comedian a ghost of his former self, with one joke after another landing with a dull thump, the air is almost tragicomic.
And the funny thing is, the film has some of the most “it” comedians today, including Redin Kingsley, Sivaangi, Munishkanth, and KPY Bala. Humour often has a lot to do with reacting, which is something of an expert territory for Vadivelu, who is known to tactfully make one bellow with laughter. But Naai Sekar treats these actors and their bits as if they were dull individual set pieces spouting rhythmic words with comedic effect (Vadacurry and pedigree, for instance). And can the rape jokes stop already?
But in a film anchored by Vadivelu, Anandraj gets one of the best tracks — as crass as his story begins (he gets hurt in his nether region thanks to a gun mishap). Anandraj is Dass, the deadliest rowdy in all of Chennai, with a soft spot for his pet bull dog. But when his furry baby is abducted by Naai Sekar by accident, a rivalry is quick to form, and he is on his tail (pun not intended). For a brief period of time that Dass is indisposed, there is this nice idea that the film explores. By the time he assembles his gang of sundry criminals, they have all gotten other jobs and broken “good”. One of them has even turned into a house husband. Now that is a film that I would’ve paid good money to watch.
Needless to say, the women in the film have absolutely nothing to do. With the exception of Sivaangi, who is also mysteriously missing in action for most of its runtime, the other two leads (Shivani Narayanan and Sanjana Singh) are sexualised drones who are used to merely take its tired plot forward. And there is no exception made for the lovely dogs on screen as well. Even if the film starts off with a sweet flashback about a puppy that changes a family’s luck for good, the adorable canines add nothing to its lethargic writing. The man’s best friend is treated less like a friend and more like a trophy or a rabbit’s foot that is tended to only with selfish benefits.
Vadivelu tries his darndest best to put on a good show and do what he does best. He in fact goes on to slip in some of his most beloved dialogues into his lines. But all this does is make us smile sadly, filling us with nostalgia of his mythos that we once knew and enjoyed.