NOTE:Apologies for any technical/factual errors.
Eventually the much awaited kamal-gautham thriller was released last friday and luckily I got free ticket to watch it the very next day. Gautham yet again proves that he has the mettle in him to repeat his success and his previous 2 hits Minnale, Kakka Kakka were no mere flash in the pan. Unfortunately, 'another episode in a police officers life'(as the title says) falls way short of kakka-2 be it the way the characters have been portrayed, the songs or the conviction with which the story has been told. On top of that traces of kakka-kakka is seen now and then during the entire movie. For example, joythika's daughter's name is maya(remember jyothika's name in kakka kakka), the location in songs sequences in 'Paartha mudhal naal' reminds you of the pondicherry retreat where surya-jyothika visit, kamal in unform talking with jyothika is similiar to surya talking to jyothika all remind viewer of kakka kakka. Also, Daniel Balaji, the villian in the movie was one of the inspectors working with surya in kakka-kakka and hence the voice sounds very familiar and one could relate it instantly to kakka kakka. Finally, the name Illa used in kakka-kakka is used again in this movie. And the grand finale, the one to one between kamal and daniel balaji reminds you of the one to one between surya and jeeva in kakka kakka.
Nonetheless, the movie is a perfect racy thriller unlike kakka-kakka which is a straight
forward battle between the cops and the bad guys. Gautham has worked up enough suspense and a sensible plot to take the story from a remote village near trichy(or madurai) keeranur to newyork and back to the chennai and finally nailing down the bad guys.
It all begins with Prakash Raj's daugther being kidnapped and killed in keeranur and Prakash
Raj summons his junior Raghavan(Kamal) from CBI to investigate. Though Kamal manages to find the body of Rani, he is unable to find the criminals. Prakash Raj's calm and subtle role catches and you feel for him when he cries in front of his dead daughter. He is a class of his own. An unmistakable product from the K.B school like Kamal himself. The kidnapper kills leaves Rani's finger tied in a rope with a lemon and chillies in front of Prakash Raj's house leaves you numb at the cruelty. The viewer gets a hang of it when the post mortem of Rani reveals that she had been killed with a surgical equipment, with precision cuts. That makes one guess that kidnapper could be related to medical profession. Well is it true(or NOT). We have to watch it to find out. Then Raghavan is in for a surprise when he learns that Prakash Raj and his wife have also been murdered in the US. This sets him flying to Newyork to investigate the case and at the same time an accidental meeting with Jyothika attempting a suicide in the hotel he is staying brings them closer. Unfortunately, the sequences invoking Kamal and Jyothika and slow and silent and distract you from the narration. But, the song 'Manjal veyyil' is a hummable melody beautifully shot. Raghavan and Anderson (the NYPD inspector) find out the killers have not only killed Prakash Raj, his wife and daugther but they are serial killers and have killed many girls and have buried them all in a mass grave. From there on the narration picks up momentum and as they get close to the duo serial killers, Andersen gets killed and Kamal is almost killed.
Daniel Balaji revels in his role both in terms of acting and the appearance of a highly
qualified doctor who is a real psycho.And his partner supports him well in his role throughout the movie. Then the duo escape from the US and enter India, and then finally reach chennai and almost get their hand on Jyothika and when you think she is almost finished...you have a surprise. (See it to find out :)). The last half hour chase of the duo by Kamal has been told with a racy pace. But, then you find that 2 highly qualified doctors from the US,who as psychopath killers turnout to doing some antics like street smart rowdies, which sort of looks odd. Finally, when you expect to know the reason for their behaviour, its left as a open puzzle and one finds that there is not enough merit why they do all these things and how it all relates to being the best doctors in the world!, and why would they want to all these when they know its not going to advance their ambitious medical careers, but it might even end their career, which eventually happens!!
Kamal's first wife Kamalini Mukherjee brings a new freshness with her. The song 'Paartha
Naal' has been beautifully shot. The flash back involving Kamal,Kamalini and Kamalini being killed by a villian with knife, in front of Kamal just reminds you of the way Jeeva kills Jyothika in front of Surya's eyes.But, there is not enough justification why and how it all happens. Truly speaking Kamal's first wife episode finds no relevance in the entire story.
Gautham could have avoided so many things that remind you of Kakka Kakka.Kamal looks older and has put on weight. Even for a actor of his caliber age has let him down. Honestly, Surya beats Kamal handsomely with his performance and appearance in the 1st episode of a police officers life. VV, is a true victory for Daniel Balaji. In fact, VV is a hunting ground for him and has truly played around with the Tamil Nadu and NYPD before it all comes to and end.
The camera work by Ravivarman is excellent, and if its true that several short in NY have
been shot on natural light with handheld camera, its a marvellous job. Harris Jayaraj's background is of very high standards and the songs 'Manjal veyill', 'paartha naal', 'neurppae' are already smash hits and will take VV to the blockbuster list. Editing by Antony gives the narration the momentum and the makes the viewing of song, NY sequences appealing.All in all Gautham has scored another winner and is a hattrick for this passionate movie maker , and it will make it to the hits of 2006 and the viewer definitely won't be disappointed and its truly a thrilling experience and will set the cash registers ringing for sure.
-Madan
