Veeram Review : Vadakkan Pattu in a brand new bottle of Macbeth

Director Jayaraj’s highly anticipated epic historic drama Veeram has finally hit screens. The movie was screened at several international festivals including the BRICS Film Festival and IFFI, Goa. Let’s see whether the movie has lived up to the expectations.

The movie starts off with Renji Panicker’s narration. Veeram is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The director has adapted Macbeth with the Vadakkan Pattukal of North Malabar region. We, Malayali audience, have seen Vadakkan Pattuakal and related stories in many yesteryear classics. So Chandu Chekavar, Aaromal Chekavar and Unniyarcha is no alien to us.

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 because 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.

In Veeram, director Jayaraj has smartly infused Macbeth with the Vadakkan Pattukal. We are not going too much into how that has been showcased in the movie, as it will be a spoiler of sorts.

Jayaraj has done an incredible job to present the movie in such a big canvas. He roped in some best available technicians and has succeeded in presenting the movie as an international product. Malayali audience might get disappointed as the plot is very familiar to us but for people outside the region, Veeram will certainly be a new experience.

Coming to the performance side, Kunal Kapoor and all the supporting actors have done a commendable job. Normally in multilingual movies, glitches are bound to be there with the lip sync. But in Veeram, all the actors have done good homework to perfect the diction while delivering the heavy dialogues.

In the technical side, CG works could have been better but the visuals were aesthetic and appealing. Stunts choreographed by Allan Poppleton, who has worked in Hollywood films like Lord of the Rings and Avatar, is brilliant. The movie will throw light on the intricate details and the history behind the world’s oldest primeval martial art form Kalaripayattu.

Veeram will be a visual treat for those who enjoy watching epic historic dramas.