Vijay Sethupathi plays a mass hero in ‘Rekka’

By Mythily Ramachandran

If Tamil actors Vijay and Surya and many others can play the super-hero why not Vijay Sethupathi?

Tamil film ‘Rekka’ directed by newcomer Rathnasiva brings out this element of the versatile actor Sethupathi who has won hearts by his portrayal of the ordinary man with great ease.

Sethupathi plays Siva from Kumbakonam whose main job appears to be uniting lovers, even if it means abducting the bride from the wedding mandapam. 

When his path crosses with that of David, (Harish Uthaman) a much- feared goonda, Siva is left with no option but to abduct Bharti, (Lakshmi Menon) the daughter of a gangster leader from Madurai.
Oh not again! I can hear some of you say that. 

Be prepared for Siva’s larger than life character who sends, flying goons in large numbers with a flick of his hand and mind you without even a scratch on himself, all the while holding onto Bharti's hand. 

As for Bharti, she is the loosu ponnu (dumb girl) and Lakshmi Menon plays it to the hilt.
Which woman would walk off with a stranger on her first meeting with him? Only a loosu ponnu!
And, when Bharti conveys this to her mother, her mother tells her to say goodbye to her grandmother before she leaves.
How much more preposterous can this get? 

The flashback story does little to move your heart. The good moments, however, are the scenes between Siva and his father. Director K. S. Ravikumar. Ravikumar as Siva’s father is wonderful.
You feel sorry for a wonderful performer like Kishore wasted in the role  of Selva. It’s time Harish Uthaman looked for a changeover from his villain roles. He is another actor who can do better than play the growling antagonist.  

‘Rekka’ lacks logic but then Sethupathi’s fans are not going to complain.