Review: Con City
Director Harish Durairaj delivers a neat, clean, fun-filled and meaningful entertainer in Con City, which is ideal for a weekend watch with the family.
Film: Con City
Written & Directed by Harish Durairaj
Cast: Arjun Das, Anna Ben, Yogi Babu, Vadivukkarasi, Akhilan, V T V Ganesh, Arul Doss, Ramesh Thilak, Imman Annachi
Music: Sean Roldan
DOP: Aravind Viswanathan
Editor: Arul Moses A
Rating: 3.5 stars
Synopsis…
The film revolves around Saravana (Arjun Das), whose desperation to pay off his late mother’s debts lands him in trouble. A deal he thinks will make him rich backfires badly. Not only does he put himself in trouble, he also puts two other families — Mithra(Anna Ben) and her young son Jeeva (Akhilan) and Janaki (Vadivukkarasi) and her son Jacky (Yogi Babu)– that trusted him with their money in trouble. The developments that occur soon after result in a situation where all of them have to flee the city and reside together. Life goes on and all is well until one day, young Jeeva goes missing from school…
Analysis
Director Harish’s Con City is largely entertaining, thanks to the manner in which the director narrates the story with flair. To his credit, he has managed to conjure up a decent plot (it is not perfect and has its limitations), picked an astoundingly gifted cast –Arjun Das, Anna Ben, Yogi Babu and Vadivukkarasi — and delivered an entertaining but meaningful story. This by itself makes the film pass with flying colours.
The director especially deserves a pat on the back for the manner in which he has managed to keep the mood of the film largely light. He has done this by limiting emotional and dramatic sequences and even during those dramatic sequences that are necessary, he cleverly uses the characters of Yogi Babu and Vadivukkarasi to break tense and emotional moments with humour.
For instance, when the five of them are faced with a particularly dire situation, Vadivukkarasi suddenly gets up to go, saying she wants to make tea. At no point in the film does one feel heavy or weighed down by the developments on screen.
The film is a clean family entertainer. There is not a single scene in the film that is likely to make you squirm in your seat. There are no double meaning dialogues or raunchy songs. It appears to be a film whose makers seem to have placed their faith completely in the strength of the plot and the performances of their lead characters — both of which deliver.
Arjun Das, who plays the pivotal, central character of Saravana, is just brilliant. Unassumingly he delivers a measured and neat performance that lifts the film and makes it an engaging watch. No wonder, people are betting big on this actor in Tamil cinema.
Anna Ben is all charm in this film. She gently takes a backseat in this light hearted film that is endearing in its own simple way. Nevertheless, her performance adds value to the plot and charm to the film.
Yogi Babu and veteran actress Vadivukkarasi combine well as mother and son in this comedy crime drama to keep the movie light and entertaining. Both actors play a crucial role in breaking the monotony and bringing respite with humour.
On the technical front, Sean Roldan’s music is just mesmersing as always, adding strength to the film.
On the whole, this is a film that is likely to lighten your mood. A good film that is definitely worth a watch.
