Ippadai Vellum review: Racy film that keeps you hooked

Director Gaurav Narayanan, who impressed audiences and critics alike with his first film Thoonga Nagaram and followed up with another classy movie, Sigaram Thodu, delivers yet another winner in Ippadai Vellum.

The film is a thorough entertainer with equal doses of action, romance, comedy and drama.

Madhusudhanan or Madhu (Udhayanidhi Stalin), an IT professional who has lost his job owing to recession, is in love with Bhargavi (Manjima Mohan), a Christian and sister of senior police officer Dheena Sebastian (RK Suresh). When Dheena learns that his sister is in love with a Hindu, he is furious.

Bhargavi is unperturbed and announces her decision to marry Madhu. This only makes Dheena angrier and he vows to stop the wedding at any cost.

Bhargavi and Madhu plan to get married on a particular date in secret at the registrar's office.

Simultaneously, in another part of the country, extremist Chotta (Daniel Balaji), wanted in connection with a string of bomb blasts, escapes from prison and is on his way to Chennai to plant bombs and spread terror.

He tricks the police into believing he is elsewhere and looks to enter the city by taking a lift from Kuzhanthai Velu (Soori), a poor dubbing artiste whose wife back in his native village is in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

However, seeing the police screening all those looking to enter the city, he gives Kuzhanthai Velu the slip and looks to cross the road. Unfortunately, Madhu, who is driving on the opposite carriageway, hits him. Chotta is knocked unconscious. Madhu takes him to a nearby hospital in his car. After admitting him there, he slips away as he has no money to pay the hospital's bill. Chotta, on regaining consciousness, escapes from the hospital.

The doctor on duty, after watching a TV report on Chotta, calls the police to inform them that he is not in Hyderabad as they think but in Chennai. The police check all CCTV cameras and  begin looking for the two men Madhu and Velu, thinking they are accomplices. They soon track them down and arrest them. One of the officers handling the case is Dheena Sebastian who is delighted that Madhu has been arrested for suspected terrorist links.

How do Madhu and Kuzhanthai Velu prove their innocence? How do they stop Chotta from triggering blasts? Do Madhu and Bhargavi marry? Questions like these and more are answered by the film.

Gaurav Narayanan has a gift for narrating stories and he narrates this one well. The film is racy from the start and Gaurav keeps audiences guessing and interested till the climax.

Udhayanidhi Stalin comes up with a convincing performance, which is better than even his performance in his best film to date — Manithan (2016).

Manjima is absolutely at ease as Bhargavi. Soori's comedy works well. Soori and Ravi Maryan together make the film funny. Daniel Balaji and RK Suresh too come up with impressive performances. And the film has some stunning visuals by Richard. D Imman's music is okay.

Everything about the film works and one is tempted to say it is flawless. But that is not the case, with a few lapses in logic. But it is a film that is worth every penny you pay to watch it.