Kaththi

 

After a successful Diwali just about two years back in the form of Thuppaki, ARM & Ilayathalapathi joins hands to create Kaththi. When a successful combo returns for another project the expectations would definitely sky rocket upwards. At this stage even a good film would look a bit low when compared with the humongous victory that Thuppaki achieved. ARM knew this completely and was left with no choice but to give a film on par with Thuppaki. And he does it in style. Kaththi offers much more than what its predecessor could in a few fields which makes it not only a good film but an awesome one too.

In a double hero story its either that both are brothers separated by various reasons or they are meant to switch roles to continue the story flow. Kaththi takes the latter route. When a crooked hero escapes from prison and gets the chance to meet someone just like him, he switches character and sends the good guy to jail. He ends up at the good guy’s story line and learns the good things he has done over the years. The rogue hero turns a new leaf and continues the good guy’s role. How will he succeed in achieving the mission along with a few turns makes kaththi the perfect masala flick we’ve longed for.

The first half moves pretty briskly with just about a few minutes of unwanted scenes and two wrongly placed songs that were meant to be really good. The second half moves with a flashback that makes the story even gripper. Anirudh’s bgm gives a huge hand in boosting the heroism factor that a star like Vijay demands. Be it the fight scenes or even the scenes where he runs or packs a powerful dialogues, the music makes it stand out brilliantly.

Vijay carries the story single-handedly. While there aren’t much differences appearance wise between the two roles, a bit of mannerism and character build distinguishes them. The flashback scenes that depicts the plight of farmers in our country surprisingly moves the audience deeply. It was amazing to watch Vijay display his acting prowess that was staying dominant for a few years. He has seemed to shed the mass tag that was around him and delivers what the character needs. He doesn’t have an introduction fight nor an introduction song that praises him with all glory. He even sports a casual salt and pepper beard for the good guy character.The scenes where he gets humiliated, teased and even embarrassed definitely provides the platform needed to bring out the actor in him that we all wanted to see for ages. The dialogues come in handy to make it a bit easier. There aren’t any punch dialogue but a few dialogues pack a huge punch (Ex: the short definition for communism).

The heroine Samantha is more of an eye candy whose scenes try their best not to hinder the flow of the story. She fills in during the songs and a few romantic scenes and disappears at times. The comic relief is provided by Sathish, making his debut as the lead comedian in such a huge project. While he manages to tickle a few bones, none of the humor sticks to our mind once we are out of the theatre. The antagonist, Neil Nitin Mukesh deserves a special mention. He plays the role of a CEO of an MNC that wants to capture the hero’s village for their profitable causes. For some reasons he seems to be much better than Vidyut Jamwal. His lip sync is accurately perfect and he does justice to his character.

The fight scenes are designed to bring the theatre roof down. They cater very well to the needs of Vijay’s hardcore fan base. Instead of blindly fighting a bunch of goons single-handedly, ARM makes everything possible, practical and logical, thanks to his screenplay. There are abundant scenes where sentiment seems to be the core factor and most of the scenes are natural without any over doing. There are a certain issue that are openly discussed such as the 2G spectrum case and about a liquor baron who was bankrupted. ARM has done his best to stuff in a lot of issues and messages such as the farmer’s plight in our country, how city people rarely care about the villagers, how media doesn’t cover the important news and rather go for the ones that gives them business, how corporate companies are ruining our country, how elders are being forced to a old age home, etc,etc. Joining all the dots, combining all these mini stories into a big one is where his role comes and he has done it pretty well.

Kaththi too has its share of dull moments. The songs hinder the progress of the story. Fortunately the ‘Palam’ song isn’t there in the film. The movie length is about 2 hrs and 45 mins. Very rarely are there scenes that makes it feel draggy.

Overall, when compared with Thuppaki, Kaththi is more darker and doesn’t portray the lead role as a cool chap who can deal with anything. This gives more depth to the film and to the characters. Kaththi is the perfect diwali gift,not just for Vijay fans but for all. The ARM Vijay combo strikes gold twice in a row.

Kaththi – Semme sharpu ! ! !