VISITOR COLUMN

Once in a while, comes a film which holds the system by its collar and questions the fundamentally 'twisted' corrupted nature of it! Yeah, a certain Mr. S style! This time around, talented writer-director Samutharakkani has tried his hand at the genre, endeavoring to engage us in a gripping tale of 'how self sculpting' can make a 'big' difference! He even starts his narration with his theme of 'self-change' and then proceeds to introduce a protagonist, who is portrayed as a loser because of his non-conformance to the society. Yeah, we have seen it all before, from the master of the genre itself, and we cant help but sense the 'deja-vu' smoke lingering all over! People lie to one another, flout one-ways, use cellphones while driving, fight in the middle of the road and what not... Its all been seen before! But definitely, these are well executed scenes, where the director asserts his proficiency in his narration. And if you know Samu, as a writer, he is a natural, though sometimes preachy and we do get some hard-hitting dialogues quoting Valluvar and many more! 'Jeyam' Ravi, as the brilliant well-read protagonist who is pushed to his limit, puts in a great act and fits the character to the 'T'. Soori too, has lots of scope for performance, and he wins accolades scene after scene in the first half, with his sardonic expressions and funny sarcastic retorts!

 

So, our loser protagonist is angry, and the director wants us to identify ourselves with him. He does it in a very convincing way, in spite of the unwanted romantic angle. Here, at this point in the scenario, the loser has to turn the 'hero'. And that's what we are rooting for. The director excels in two things at this time - persuading us into buying the 'need for change' agenda, and then introducing us to the 'core plot' of how the loser turns hero by 'being the change he wants to see!' 

 

In the next 40 minutes- starting from the planning of the sting operation by the the protagonist, the near-perfect execution, the degree of detailing the director resorts to for each of the situations and the characters, the frighteningly real obstacles encountered in his hustle - everything folds out, in front of us neatly and (disbelievingly) believably, making it the stand-out high-point of the movie. Power-packed acting performances from all quarters, top-class perfection levels in characterization, strong  (though seemingly sermonizing thoughts) on the lines of 'Can an ordinary man do anything at all of consequence, against such a mighty system?' and an animated screenplay in the likes of an Arnab talk show- take us through a engaging and very satisfying viewing experience! Though, we still gaze in disbelief; to be brutally honest, the director, with or without his knowledge, had already given a solution for the concerned issue at the interval block, which sounds quite convincing, despite its exaggeration and practicality concerns! And there in, a very well-made movie ends! I can even give a clap in the absence of a 'cynic' critic. 

 

Post -interval starts with a dream song sequence, when suddenly after all that tension and stakes escalation, the lead pair are seen dancing in some foreign country. I stayed patient,  believing sanity will prevail! But no! It didn't! The director seemed to have other plans! What he initially intends to showcase is- the insane lengths, the corrupt officials would go, to save their skins, when exposed in public! But what he actually translates it on screen is some nonsense, reducing the antagonist group to a club of clowns and rowdies, doing some absolute ridiculous stuff! Add to it some unwanted action sequences with some poor visual effects, two more songs, petty brawls. one another irrelevant character which for sure belongs in some other movie, what you finally get dished out- is some mind-numbing,  frivolous fare, in the name of entertainment! Director sir, you asked us to be the change we want to see! Samu, Y u no be the change in redefining entertaining commercial cinema?

 

Yet, for all its worth, you have to give Samuttharakani his due for his right (if rather pretentious) intentions to voice for a change in the society! He shows his skill at handling a racy script, interlaced with some frankly blunt dialogues and sarcastic thoughts. But he, as a director, is much more talented and capable than this! If you are a sucker for themes like 'change' and 'revolution' and message oriented action films, and don't give a damn about some 'masala' sprinkled on, this one is specifically tailor-made for you! You will have 'a whale of a time' in the theaters. As for the others, who are more concerned about quality meaningful cinema, the movie definitely ends at the interval! And till then, it is pretty good!