10 years ago 'Gentleman' happened. Twist the story around a bit and serve it in a new bottle, and, there it is- 'Villian' from director KS Ravikumar (Story: Yugi Sethu).

It's all the magic of screenplay. In the depths of the story lies the engrossing flashbacks of Ajith's life. With those extremely poignant scenes the director had moved the film ahead.

Ajith draws ear shattering applause each time he appears in his slightly deranged and handicapped role. Fabulous acting that was! He has unleashed a fresh supply of blood in his veins. Even in his dance and stunt sequences, he shows a phenomenal improvement.

Ajith is the modern times Robin Hood who steals from the scums of the universe to help people like his mentally retarded younger brother (played by Ajith himself). Somewhere along the line, he thwarts 'Pepsi' Vijayan's plans of swindling away crores and crores of donation funds from abroad that were meant for the local charity institutions. He succeeds and proves teat he is the greatest 'Villain of all the villains'.

KS Ravikumar surprises us yet again with his knack of untying the knots without much fuss. The dacoities that Ajith commits at the airport and the wedding hall simultaneously are thrilling to watch. One has to learn from KS Ravikumar how to not just think up a good scene but to deliver it onscreen too.

The film has two heroines- Meena and Kiran. Kiran's love affair with the 'bus conductor' Ajith starts on the usual 'love-at-first-fight' mode. She has exceeded the boundaries of glamour by miles in the song sequences. On the other hand there is Meena who hides her love for Ajith and participates in his robberies and finally ends up sacrificing her love. Is she eating 'Kayakalpam' or something to stay that youthful looking?

Viciousness overflows in the performance of 'Pepsi' Vijayan- starting from the scenes in which he breaks the hands and legs of young Ajith to make him beg for alms down to his attempts to rape his sister-in-law Kiran. But, it's not clear how a vicious man like him ends up becoming the trustee of crores and crores of international funds.

The scenes in which Karunaas appears to figure out the role switching of both Ajiths are full of laughter.

Vidhyasagar's songs are targeted at the masses. All the songs are enjoyable. The sad song 'Aadiyile kaathadichchaa' that slowly makes it way into our ears is greatly enhanced by its visual presentation.

'Kanal' Kannan's stunt sequences and the way they have been cinematographed gives a new life into them. Dialogues shine when Ajith explains his stand to Kiran, "I don't rob the rich to give it to the have-not's. I rob the rich to give to the cannot's. "

The sentiments in flashbacks don't go overboard. The director has again proved his smartness in creating a bond between Kiran and the mentally retarded Ajith before he rescues her in the climax.

The last 15 minutes of the film is full of masala. The director overwhelms us with rape- murder- bomb- police routine.

Hey, how many more films are we going to see that resemble 'Gentleman' and 'Samurai'? The hero robs. He has a valid excuse which he recites in a flashback. How many times are we going to be fed with re-heated stuffs like this?

But, a great slag-less screenplay and some stunning performances from Ajith make this film a treat for the senses.