SEERU MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Jiiva returns to the realm of the action genre with Rekka director Rathna Siva’s Seeru. Co-starring Riya Suman, Sathish, Varun, Navdeep and Gayathri in principal roles, the action-drama is produced by Ishari K. Ganesh under the banner Vels Film International. 

Manimaran alias Maran (Jeeva) a cable TV operator in Mayavaram repeatedly locks horns with the local MLA Singaram (RNR Manohar), due to which the latter plans a hit on Maran. Between the local tussle, Maran has a pregnant sister to take care of, whose childbirth is at risk due to her epilepsy.  

Maran is also a crusader and is just a phone call away from bashing up and rescuing innocents from local goons. As a twist of fate, Malli, the hitman assigned to kill Maran, becomes his ally during a crucial moment of his sister’s pregnancy. How will Maran reciprocate when Malli gets in a life-threatening trouble forms the rest of the story. 

Seeru treats its core premise in the most generic way possible. Maran delivers complicated lectures that lack the required punch or brevity, thus hurting the pace of the proceedings. A part of the first half faithfully follows the regular commercial film template until the narrative introduces Malli's character.

From here, things tend to get a bit interesting and the narrative picks up pace. Even though Malli’s character is introduced in a slightly comical manner (his accurate mind-reading skills make him identify his target through just a phone call, without the help of a photo or any visual description). Malli poses a threat to Maran’s life, but due to circumstances, he ends up being his sister’s savior. Rarely do we come across a star vehicle where the villain gets a chance to showcase his good nature, which we get to see in Seeru. 

The scene where Maran finds out about Malli’s deed could have had some better suspense and writing, but the emotional beats are conveyed well in those moments. Till the interval, the film has the necessary build, with Maran trying to save Malli as we get to know Ashokamithran (Navdeep). The interval block provides the necessary momentum. 

The second half doesn’t capitalize on the pace but instead loses it by fitting an overlong, talkative backstory that led to Malli’s current plight. The flashback is fitted without being foreshadowed in the earlier moments of the narrative. The film becomes overly preachy at the end, despite having so much room to deliver an engrossing cat and mouse thriller. 

Seeru had some good ideas on paper. We see a hardened criminal choose the path of redemption. We see a bunch of helpless girls planning to avenge the death of their ambitious friend, whose dreams posed a threat to the villain. But rarely do we see these ideas translate on screen due to the ordinary filmmaking.

Jiiva stood out in the emotional scenes, while Varun is aptly cast as Malli. Imman’s songs, especially ‘Sevvanthiye’ and ‘Vaa Vasuki’ are guaranteed crowd-pleasers. Overall, Seeru ends up being an average fare despite its potential. 

SEERU VIDEO REVIEW