Veeram is not like Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha

Director Jayaraj’s epic historic drama Veeram is getting great reports from all the centres. Critics and audience have appreciated the movie for the strong content and the excellent work in the technical department.

Veeram is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth based on the Northern ballads or Vadakkan pattukal of Malabar region. Vadakkan Pattukal is not an unfamiliar theme for Malayali audience. There have been several movies right from the black and white days that were based on the characters from Vadakkan Pattukal.

Most famous among them was Hariharan- MT Vasudevan Nair team’s Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. The movie starring Mammootty in the lead is one of the all time classics of Malayalam cinema.

In Veeram, lead actor Kunal Kapoor is playing the role of celebrated anti-hero Chandu Chekavar, a character immortalised by Mammootty in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha.

Right from the moment Veeram was announced, there have been comparisons with the classic and many were apprehensive about how they can recreate the magic. But in reality, Veeram is not like Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. It is an entirely different movie told in a different scale.

Legend has it that, Aromal Chekavar, a well-known warrior, is killed after a sword fight in which his sword gets broken. Aromal manages to win the fight but then fingers are pointed at his cousin Chandu for replacing the metallic rivets with wooden ones. Chandu is said to have betrayed his cousin as he was jealous of Aromal’s popularity and abilities. Aromal after a altercation with Chandu gets killed by him. Aromal’s sister Unniyarcha, vows her sons will avenge her brother’s death. Chandu finally gets killed by Unniyarcha’s sons.

Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha was an alternative version of what is written in the history books. The story was told from Chandu’s perspective, suggesting that grave injustice was done to Chandu by wrongly accusing him of replacing the rivets. But in Veeram, Jayaraj has showcased the original version blending it with the world famous classic, Macbeth.

The backbone of Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha was it’s strong, novel plot but Veeram has it’s strength in the visual presentation. The story is taken forward visually with top notch technical values. Veeram along with the technical values is also an adaptation of Macbeth. So, it will be easily comprehensible and relatable to an international audience.