Kolaigaran movie review: An unsatisfying crime thriller
As the name suggests, the movie revolves around a man who murders people. Vijay Antony’s character, Prabhakaran, first seems like he’s stalking his neighbour Dharani (Ashima). But it is quickly established that it is Vamsi (the villain) who is attracted to Dharani.
Dharani and her mother moved to Chennai from Hyderabad because of Vamsi’s predatory behaviour. Vamsi, who is from the political fraternity, comes in search of her to her apartment. Dharani and her mother try to escape from him and end up murdering him.
Hearing something unusual in the neighbourhood, Prabhakaran volunteers to help them. They deny it in the beginning but end up seeking his help as they are new to the city. Though the director Andrew Louis admits that ‘Kolaigaran’ is an adaptation of the Japanese crime novel ‘The Devotion Of Suspect X’, he gives a lighter take for the Indian audience.
From there the story slowly moves on to how they committed the murder and what is Prabhakaran’s involvement in it. Arjun Sarja, who plays a cop in the movie, is the one who takes charge of the investigation. As the story dives in to become a crime thriller, Sarja and his team first suspect Prabhakaran. But Sarja grows suspicious.
Later, Sarja, with a trace of evidence, tries to seek help from a senior retired police official (Nassar). The police team finds a shocking clue about Prabhakaran — he is a police official from Hyderabad who took stepped down from service and moved to Chennai.
Sarja is left amused as to how well the murder is planned and executed. Finally, when the whole police team suspects Prabhakaran for Vamsi’s murder, the director gives a lighter twist to the story. Though the first half of the movie was not engaging, the second half compensates as a crime thriller.
‘Kolaigaran’ tries to come across like a product drawn from Kamal Haasan’s ‘Papanasam’ at certain stages. Songs, including the background music, do not blend well with the movie. But they have crafted the camera and lighting well. Vijay Antony has forcibly pushed out the actor in him. Overall, the movie does not live up to the expectations of a crime thriller. They have tried hard to sell a product that leaves questions unanswered.
