Rating: 2.5/5
Banners: RS Infotainment, Grass Root Film Company
Cast: Soori, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhavani Sre, Gautham Menon, Rajiv Menon, Ilavarasu, Balaji Sakthivel, Saravana, Tamizh, Chetan and others
Music: Ilaiyaraaja
Cinematographer: R Velraj
Editor: R. Ramar
Director: Vetri Maaran
Producer: Elred Kumar
Release date: 15th April 2023
Among the many cult filmmakers in Kollywood, the name of Vetri Maaran stands tall. This time, he chose to present his product in the Telugu circuit as well so let us see if this has won some attention or not.
Story
Set on the backdrop of the year 1987, Kumaresan (Soori) is an honest man who joins the police department as a driver. He is posted in a sensitive area and is now part of ‘Operation Ghost Hunt’. The operation is to nab Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi), leader of a group named Praja Dalam which is opposing a corporate company trying to do mining in the forests. Kumaresan soon locates the whereabouts of Perumal and in the process, he also falls in love with the local village girl Tamilarasi (Bhavani). However, things change when police brutality increases and the village is brought for interrogation. What happens from there forms the rest.
Performances
Soori has given a stunning performance. Being a comedian, his portrayal of such a serious character is praiseworthy. Vijay Sethupathi was brief but he was impressive. Balaji Sakthivel was brutal. Gautham Menon was superb. Chetan was perfect. Bhavani was excellent. Rajiv Menon was neat. The others did their bit as required and added value.
Crew
The story is written in a rustic manner and the script was alright. However, the screenplay was not compact enough leading to lags. The background score was nice and one song was worth humming. Cinematography scores the brownie points with excellent capturing of the visuals. Editing was not upto the mark. Costumes were suiting the backdrop and art department was good. Action sequences went overboard.
Hits
Soori’s performance
First half
Realistic feel
Climax
Misses
Second half
Overdose of brutality
Slow pace
Repetitive scenes
Deeper Look
There is a distinguished difference between Tollywood and Kollywood filmmakers and someone like Vetri Maaran has a very signature style. He is more inclined towards the realistic style of storytelling and even some of his visuals come across like a documentary. Here, he chose a very sensitive subject and as always, he has portrayed the oppression of the rural people in a big way. The film takes off in the right way and has a good momentum till the interval bang. However, the second half failed to carry the same drive. The overdose of brutality and rawness is something the Telugu audience find hard to digest. Also, few scenes were dragged to the full leading to lag and boredom. The presence of unknown faces also adds to the hiccups. Overall, the film is no doubt a good attempt to show something realistic but it went a bit overboard in terms of the treatment. At the box office, the film might have an okay collection but the sequel might have something promising as it appears Vijay Sethupathi would be seen more in it.
Vox Verdict
Hard Hitting!
