After making a mark with their earlier two outings Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya and Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada, the trio of Silambarasan, Gautham Vasudev Menon and AR Rahman team up to render the story of an ordinary youth from a remote village in Tamilnadu who ends up becoming a don in the north.
Silambarasan plays the protagonist in the film, based on writer Jeyamohan’s novel. Produced by Vels International and presented by Red Giant, the film stars Siddhi Adnani as heroine. Appukutty, Siddique, Radhika Sarathkumar, Neeraj Madhavan and Shrisha play important roles. Muthu, a migrant worker from Tirunelveli goes to Mumbai to work im a parotta ship run by a Tamil, to eke out his livelihood and save money to be sent to save his mother from poverty. Things take a drastic turn when Muthu works at the stall. They are not just migrant labourers but are also forced to kill people for their gangster bosses in Mumbai. One such incident pushes Muthu to take the gun in his hand. He slowly gets dragged into underworld. There is romance, anger, deceit, revenge in his life. Did he overcome all odds form the crux.
Silambarasan performs with vigour. As innocent Muthu determined to save his family from poverty or as a flamboyant and stylish gangster toying with his gun, he delivers it well. The physical transformation in the first half is good. Siddhi Idnani is welcome addition to Tamil cinema. But has limited screen presence unlike other female leads in GVM’s earlier films. From Appukutty to Jaffer to Shrisha almost all characters have a part to play in the film.
The movie takes time to settle. It proceeds on a leisurely pace. Only towards the interval, the momentum builds up. But credit to GVM for the first half in a poetic manner. However, the lacunae is the second half is contrastingly more commercial. More of guns, bullets and gang war. Things unfold faster. A mash up of scenes from many movies of the ilk could be felt. And the lead scenes to part two of the film look alien.
AR Rahman’s songs add pep to proceedings. Shot mostly in Mumbai, the movie begins well to lose fizz as it progresses. But the film deserves a watch for a honest attempt by the team.