Vilangu is a web series written and directed by Prashanth Pandiyaraj. It has Vemal and Ineya in the lead roles while Bala Saravanan, Munishkanth, RNR Manohar, Reshma Pasupuleti, and others play supporting roles. It is produced by P Madan under the banner Escape Artists Motion Pictures. The series is currently streaming on Zee 5 OTT Platform.
Paridhi (Vemal) is a Sub Inspector at Vembur Police Station nearby Trichy, and is torn between his duty and his wife who is about to deliver a baby. Suddenly, he gets a call about an unidentified dead body. During the investigation, the dead body's head goes missing, landing Paridhi in deep trouble. How he manages to get out of it and finds who committed the murder forms the plot of the series.
If there is one word to describe this series, it has to be confidence. A few years back, Mohan Raja's Thani Oruvan had been released, and it was a career defining moment for both Jayam Ravi, as well as Mohan Raja. Both of them had given hits prior to Thani Oruvan in their careers, but this one film cemented both of them as bankable people in the cinema industry. Similarly, one can say, this series is the Thani Oruvan for both Vemal, the director Prasanth Pandiyaraj and producer Escape Artist P Madhan.
Vemal has given us a good mix of critically acclaimed films as well as commercially viable films like Pasanga, Vaagai Sooda Vaa, Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, Kalavani, and more. His portrayal of Paridhi, a humane cop, will be a feather in his cap. Director Prasanth also had a not-so-great outing with Bruce Lee, but here he has shown us what he's capable of. His confidence on his script has translated well on screen, and it is also reflected in the performances of the actors and the music.
The characterization of Paridhi is quite interesting by itself. He has no great superpower, but is more of a guy next door who has become a cop. He's relatable to all our lives. In addition to Paridhi, the characters played by Bala Saravanan, Ineya, and the antagonist are also well written. Even many new faces especially the members of the police station has delivered a very natural performance. This doesn't mean that the writing is flawless. The series has its fair share of issues which are minor in nature.
One of the issues is that, the police officers are repeatedly shown meting out third degree torture treatment for all the accused, even if they haven't committed crimes. That is, if the police have the slightest doubt on a person, their only way of investigation seems to be thrashing them. And this happens multiple times throughout the series, which feels repetitive.
On the technical side, music director Ajesh has done a fantastic job, and at times saves the movie when the energy of the scenes dip. The camera work also lends able support to Prasanth's writing, which makes the series work well for most of its run time. With a duration of more than 4 hours, and each episode running for an average of 40 minutes, a few scenes could have been trimmed to make the series a more crisp one.
Overall, Vilangu is a solid whodunit thriller that has a lot of smartness in the writing. With a strong antagonist character, interesting twists and an in-form Bala Saravanan supporting Vemal in front of the camera, Vilangu ends up as an engaging series, which is definitely worth your time. In addition to it, it also serves as a proper comeback for the highly talented Vemal.