Villali Veeran: A vintage Dileep movie

A festival release, Villali Veeran comes with no pretense of great art. It is packaged and delivered as a vintage Dileep movie, which means you pretty much know how the movie will play out. But mundane fare or not, the actor in question is Dileep and that means an assured hit. Villali Veeran has not beaten box office records but if reports are to go by, it would not dent the producer’s pockets.

That perhaps is the ‘Dileep factor.’ No matter how utterly predictable or ordinary the movie is, he manages to pull it off, which is why he continues to be a bankable star. There are very few stars on his league who can command both good initials and a decent run, primarily because when it comes to his choice of role, Dileep is pretty sure of what works.

Positioning himself in the ‘family, children, layman’ category, his movies repeat the formula without fail. So we will have a do-gooder young man who is largely broke. Soon enough his path will cross with the rich – either through marriage, love or accident. There will be a group of scheming villains who are eyeing the wealth that Dileep is bound to enjoy soon. One of them might also have an eye on his girl.

His buddies will invariably be the reigning comedians of the season – from Kalabhavan Mani to Harisree Ashokan to Salim Kumar to Suraj Venjaramoodu and now Kalabhavan Shajon. Sure enough, Nedumudi Venu or one of the ‘senior citizens’ will be around.

After a series of misunderstandings which can be cleared with a phone call, the muddle is cleared and Dileep will walk away with the girl into a life of riches. The comedy team, meanwhile, would have stumbled into ditches, slipped on banana peels and delivered their quota of double entendres.

As all ends well, Dileep and his team walks home with another hit.

His newest release Villali Veeran is no different. Playing a humble vegetable vendor with a heart of gold, ready to sacrifice everything for his sisters and do good for others. He goes through a series of hardships in life all for his family and friends, and with so much goodness abounding, can lady luck be far behind?

That comes in the form of a rich man, who offers him a new lease of life. But there are more travails and tribulations – most of them presented with a tinge of comedy – in store for the good-hearted youngster. How he goes about addressing them and how he emerges triumphantly out of it all forms the rest of the movie.

Directed by Sudheesh Shankar, the film was initially titled Buddhettan for reasons only the makers might now. Perhaps it is to indicate that the man stays calm and composed irrespective of what happens around him. But then, a more apt title would have been Laughing Buddha given Dileep’s knack for coming out with peals of laughter for nothing.

However, with good sense prevailing on the potential impact of the title on religious and faith sensitivities, the makers opted for Villali Veeran, which just about conveys the fact that here is another Dileep film in which he will overcome all odds and emerge victorious.

If you are in the mood for a mindless comedy that has nothing new to offer, if you like to laugh at the silly antics of Dileep and his team, if you like to watch Namitha Pramod, catch Villali Veeran now playing at theatres in the UAE.