What we see at the beginning of Asuran is a father-son duo trying to flee from something/someone - we are not told why or what happened beforehand. Borrowing cues from Vetrimaaran's own Vada Chennai which had a somewhat similar opening sequence (albeit with a twist and a different backdrop), both films feel like two pieces of the same meat, cooked and conditioned differently.
Power (in its simplest terms) in many of Vetrimaaran's films amount to possession of property and position in the political or caste hierarchy. It's pretty much the same in Asuran as well. The insatiable greed of upper-caste, land-grabbing rich men is the root cause of issues between Vadakkooran (Aadukalam Naren) and Sivasamy (Dhanush) that eventually spiral out of control. As was the case in Vada Chennai, lives are lost on both sides and it's time for redemption.
DOP Velraj paints Asuran in various shades of brown and red, the two colours that define the flick in multiple ways. Red denotes spilt blood while brown denotes land. The film is a blood-soaked revenge saga - only this time, the violence strikes too close to home, and the man of the house (who's a pacifist) undergoes a massy, intense transformation. The pre-interval block conveys this quite well. It's an action set-piece that looks more refined than raw (Peter Hein handles the fight choreography, that speaks for itself) for a Vetrimaaran movie. It almost felt like Vetrimaaran built scenes up in his own signature style until then and then sat back and exclaimed: "Well, here's a set-piece for the fans/masses".
Manju Warrier, who plays Pachaiyammal, is terrific in the screentime allotted to her. She can brandish a sickle the right way or the 'right-er' way when goaded. How she holds her own against a bunch of ruffians in a scene early on in the film, is a riot. Dhanush is superb whenever he's playing the senior (more restrained) version of Sivasamy. In the second half, his violent massiness is explained in a pretty lengthy flashback which also involves casteism and power conflicts. While effective, it's a far cry from the 'Rajan' flashback of Vada Chennai. Teejay Arunaasalam and Ken Karunas, as the children of Sivasamy, lend convincing performances. However, the need for voiceovers elucidating proceedings, at times, felt like a dampener.
GVP's massy score for the fights is a total banger. He makes sure that viewers do not miss SaNa's compositions. Asuran is sprinkled with political undercurrents that many a commercial film (and filmmaker) usually tries to avoid. It's about redemption for the oppressed. For that reason alone, the film is worth a watch. Also, it ends with an Ambedkar-like statement - how education can be the biggest difference-maker! It may not be Dhanush-Vetri's absolute best effort, yet one of the best Tamil cinema likely has to offer this year.
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