6 MOVIE REVIEW

Director V.Z.Dhorai has made a name for himself in the industry thanks to his work in movies such as Mugavari, Nepali and Thotti Jaya. Now after a hiatus, he is back with 6, starring former ‘chocolate boy’ Shaam and Poonam Kaur.

The subject that the director has handled is child trafficking and the story takes Shaam, the lead protagonist to the far corners of the country starting from Chennai to Kolkata, navigating his way around the country based on the clues that he pieces together at various points.

The research that the director has done on the topic and Shaam’s earnest hard work can’t be questioned. Dhorai’s screenplay is by and large engaging. Some of the scenes are heart wrenching, especially the pre-climax and the climax. When a group of kidnapped children want Shaam to take them with him and surround him, it sure would move some muscle somewhere inside you. And so does the climax!

But there are scenes which are filmy and over the top - Shaam out of the blue taking on more than half a dozen hardcore thugs, is one. The overall packaging of the movie also makes it a little tedious for the viewers.

Dhorai has a solid story, but its the dialogues by Jeyamohan which could have been  better as its the dialogues which movies like 6 depend to keep the audience hooked.

Shaam as the father of a six year old acquits himself well. The different ranges of emotions from being angry to helpless and turning hopeless, the actor has delivered well. His physical hard work for the role is also to be appreciated. However, the actor definitely needs to work on his dialogue delivery, as it sometimes takes away the punch from certain serious scenes. 

Poonam Kaur’s lip sync could have been better and in a few places she appears a little over dramatic. Among the many villains in the movie, Anil Murali who plays the homosexual Diwakar has scope and has done his theatrics well.

The role of police in the film appears trivial after the initial segments. But the director seems to have justified it by projecting that the characters in story are immune to the judicial system.

There are just 2 songs which appear as montages. Srikanth Deva could also have mellowed down his background score as it further adds to the heaviness.

The camera work by Krishnasamy gives the movie, the rough and gritty look that the director must have envisioned. But there is fair amount of violence and unsettling visuals as Shaam encounters villains and more villains in his way. Super Subbarayan’s action scenes have been done convincingly by Shaam.

6 may not work with audience who just seek entertainment because the film is heavy, disturbing but is so with a purpose. Director Dhorai needs to be credited for not resorting to any technical gimmickry or frills. He just goes about telling his story in a unidirectional manner having made no commercial compromise. 6 sure is an awakening of sorts in terms of child trafficking and the director sheds light on what the parents of missing children go through in such a scenario. At the same time, Dhorai abstains from giving his film a docu feel.    

If at all the overall packaging was a little more tightened and certain cliches avoided, 6 had the central plot, team’s hardwork and commitment to make it one of the best movies of the year.