Critic's Rating: 3/5
Cast: Bharath, Mirthika, Erica Fernandes, Santhanam
Direction: Sasi
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes
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Synopsis:
Arvind (Bharath) wakes up from his accident with the memory of his dead
girlfriend Liyana (Mrithika). But why is everyone, including his
brother Gopal (Santhanam) and psychiatrist Anand Murthy, claiming that
she is just a figment of his imagination? And, how is the number 555 the key to his past?
Review: Sasi, who has so far made soft films like Sollamale and Poo, tries his hand at a commercial thriller with action, suspense, and of course, the inevitable romance. While the director's intent in giving us a fresh and different commercial film is evident, sadly, he doesn't manage to sidestep the genre's pitfalls.
Take for instance the story (by Aravind and Suresh). It sets up the intrigue very well — a young man finds everyone telling him that he is imagining things. It is, in this aspect, a thematic cousin of Samar, which too was about a man who is confused by what is real and what is not. However, the chinks become evident when the mystery is revealed. The antagonist juvenile behaviour belies the intelligence that we expect his character to have, considering the manner in which he has toyed with the hero till then. Worse, this character's motivations, while plausible, are not at all convincing and the fact that it is played by yet another import from the north (with atrocious lip sync) only adds to the ludicrousness of the role.
Then, there are the songs which pop up out of the blue only to bring the story to a halt, despite the attempts to make them different. In fact, when the Ezhavu song breaks out in the middle of a chase, you only want to go 'Enna ezhavu da idhu?' Even the elaborate action sequences in the latter half soon become tiring and preposterous. Arvind is terribly beaten up, tied with barbed wire, hung upside down and even electrocuted, but still manages to be fit enough to hit the bad guys black and blue. Sasi seems to have been under the wrong impression that going 'commercial' means forgoing realism. It is only because of Bharath, who deserves an 'A' for the effort that he has put into the role, that we even indulgently bear these scenes.
The romantic track between Liyana and Arvind, however, is one of the elements the movie has going for it. Despite the functional performances by Bharath and Mirthika, the way it is constructed — Liya thinks that Arvind has some ESP-like power, while he's actually pulling a fast one — brings a smile to your face. If this track had failed, the entire film would have fallen hard and flat, but Sasi shows that when it comes to romance, he is very much a proven hand.
Review: Sasi, who has so far made soft films like Sollamale and Poo, tries his hand at a commercial thriller with action, suspense, and of course, the inevitable romance. While the director's intent in giving us a fresh and different commercial film is evident, sadly, he doesn't manage to sidestep the genre's pitfalls.
Take for instance the story (by Aravind and Suresh). It sets up the intrigue very well — a young man finds everyone telling him that he is imagining things. It is, in this aspect, a thematic cousin of Samar, which too was about a man who is confused by what is real and what is not. However, the chinks become evident when the mystery is revealed. The antagonist juvenile behaviour belies the intelligence that we expect his character to have, considering the manner in which he has toyed with the hero till then. Worse, this character's motivations, while plausible, are not at all convincing and the fact that it is played by yet another import from the north (with atrocious lip sync) only adds to the ludicrousness of the role.
Then, there are the songs which pop up out of the blue only to bring the story to a halt, despite the attempts to make them different. In fact, when the Ezhavu song breaks out in the middle of a chase, you only want to go 'Enna ezhavu da idhu?' Even the elaborate action sequences in the latter half soon become tiring and preposterous. Arvind is terribly beaten up, tied with barbed wire, hung upside down and even electrocuted, but still manages to be fit enough to hit the bad guys black and blue. Sasi seems to have been under the wrong impression that going 'commercial' means forgoing realism. It is only because of Bharath, who deserves an 'A' for the effort that he has put into the role, that we even indulgently bear these scenes.
The romantic track between Liyana and Arvind, however, is one of the elements the movie has going for it. Despite the functional performances by Bharath and Mirthika, the way it is constructed — Liya thinks that Arvind has some ESP-like power, while he's actually pulling a fast one — brings a smile to your face. If this track had failed, the entire film would have fallen hard and flat, but Sasi shows that when it comes to romance, he is very much a proven hand.
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