The first thing that comes to mind while one watches Kuku Surendran's Malayalam film, Veeraaleepattu, is its tradition versus modernism story.

Though the film has been given a classy treatment, it has every clich� in place. You can almost predict the next event that will unfold on the screen.

Hari (Prithviraj) is scared of his grandfather (played by Jagathy Sreekumar). He takes a promise from his father (Murali) that he would not take on the traditional responsibility after his grandfather's time.

A student of engineering, Hari carries the heavy burden of his father's expectations to make a name for himself. The friction between them begins when the father fails to keep his promise. The son leaves home, and settles in Chennai with a good job.

After two years, the son returns home with his urbanised girlfriend Pooja (Padmapriya). However, the cold war with his father continues.

The situations that follow strongly remind us of Thevar Magan (though there is no direct link to the Bharathan's classic to pinpoint). Pooja succeeds in mending the father-son relationship when another twist is added to the story.

Prithviraj does an intense role, with some lighter moments thrown in for good measure. But it is time he did roles like the ones in Swapnakoodu and Vellithira.

Murali, as the father, gives credibility to a clich�d character while Jagathy Sreekumar surprises all in a serious role. We instinctively expect him to utter a line that will make us laugh, which thankfully, does not happen.

Padmapriya does a good job while Suraaj Venjaaramoodu, Indrans and company take care of humour department. Their roles show the other extreme of ritualistic fervour and the corruption amongst the men of God. However, their presence in this film is hardly justified.

We believe that Kuku Surendran has made Veeraaleepattu with sincerity, but at the cost of freshness.

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