Metro

Metro is the second directorial of Ananda Krishnan after his 2014 thriller Aal. The film features Shirish, Bobby Simha, Maya, Sathya and Sendrayan in the lead roles. Ananda Krishnan has co produced this flick with J. Jayakrishnan under their banners E5 Entertainments and Metro Productions.

Hero Shirish works with his friend Sendrayan for a newspaper. Belonging to a middle class family which has their fair share of financial problems, Shirish leads a happy life with his brother and parents. But his younger brother Sathya, not contented with their lifestyle, falls for the trap of a college-mate and joins a gang of chain-snatchers being headed by Bobby Simha. As always, the actions of Sathya affect his family and leads Shirish to take a path that would change his life and the fate of his family. If Shirish can get justice for his loss and if Sathya can be reformed forms the story line of Metro.

Though its his first film, Shirish has done a good job as an average guy who becomes violent because of circumstances. The first half doesn’t give him much scope to emote but the second half makes up for it. Actress Maya is cast as the female lead and her character is completely unnecessary to the story. Her role doesn’t influence the story-line and seems to have been added for the sake of it.

Sathya, as a youth who gets influenced by bad elements, has a role with the capacity to carry the film on his shoulders and he does a decent job with it. His acting could’ve been better. After Jigarthanda, it’s a treat to watch Bobby Simha in a role with negative shades. Though he doesn’t get much screen space, he nails it in a couple of instances such as a scene where he explains the difference between a thief and a robber and the climax where he moves around in a delirious state.

Sendrayan, who is known for his comical roles shines as a character artiste. As the sibling’s mother, Thulasi has given an extraordinary performance.

Being an action thriller, there aren’t any dull moments in this flick and the director has weaved a story that leaves us asking for more. Though the film runs around the chain-snatching theme, the racy screenplay makes it interesting to watch. It is obvious on how much the director would’ve researched to show us how such depraved acts are carried out and how the underground world built around it works. The climax scene is a classic example of his directorial prowess.

Cinematographer Uthaya Kumar has done a marvelous job behind the lens. The drone shots of Chennai are breathtaking and they have fortunately not been over-used. The night shots too are well taken. Johan’s music is a huge pillar of support for the film. Even though the film doesn’t glorify any of the immoral acts shown in it, the violence and hard-hitting portrayal of the crimes have earned it a ‘A’ certificate making it not suitable for all.

Overall, Metro will travel places.