Review: Kara

Film: KARA
Director: Vignesh Raja
Cast: Dhanush, Mamitha Baiju, K.S. Ravikumar, Karunas, Jayaram, Prithvi Pandiarajan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, M.S. Baskar, Sreeja Ravi & others.
Writers: Alfred Prakash & Vignesh Raja
Music Director: GV Prakash Kumar
Director Of Photography: Theni Eswar ISC
Editing: Sreejith Sarang
Art Director: Mayapandi
Action Director: Dinesh Kasi
Rating: 3.5 stars

Director Vignesh Raja, who impressed audiences and critics with his fine investigative crime thriller Por Thozhil, comes up with an even better heist thriller in ‘Kara’.

While ‘Por Thozhil’ focussed only on crimes committed by a serial killer and the efforts of cops to track him down, ‘Kara’ is multi-dimensional and deals with much more than just a deadly cat and mouse game being played between a desperate but crafty robber with noble intentions and a shrewd but publicity craving evil cop who will stop at nothing to nab him.

The film shines the light on the exploitation of the poor in general and farmers in particular. It beautifully showcases how the banking system thrives by conning the gullible and the poor into taking loans and then bleeding them dry.

In other words, ‘Kara’ is several steps ahead of ‘Por Thozhil’ with regard to writing and characterisation.

While the serial killer was the villain in Por Thozhil and the cops were the heroes, in ‘Kara’, the thief is the hero and the cop looking to nab him is the villain or should we say one of the villains.

Kara’s writing is so fine and that can be witnessed in the manner in which they differentiate between the two villains in the film. While one villain is the cop (played by Suraj Venjaramoodu), the other is the head of a bank (played by Jayaram). And there is a world of difference between the characters of the two.

Just for its writing itself, this film emerges a winner.

The first half of Kara lays the base for an exciting second half. Director Vignesh Raja narrates the story in such a well thought out fashion that by the time the first half ends, you know you are in for a heart touching story in the second half.

The second half is one which is full of twists and turns. The second half turns into a gripping action thriller as a desperate thief racing against time takes on a determined cop who is intent on nabbing him. Complicating things for both is a bank head, who has his own plans. The developments that take place around these three characters are simply fascinating to watch!

Performances:
Dhanush nails it yet again, delivering a realistic performance. The man has consistently been delivering outstanding performances and Kara is no different. In fact, one has come to expect the film to be of a certain class if he is in it and Kara doesn’t disappoint.

Equally good are Suraj Venjaramoodu as the cop and Jayaram as the Bank head. Both deliver realistic performances that add to the credibility of the plot.

Mamitha Baiju delivers her career-best performance in Kara. She is simply outstanding as the love of Kara.

Prithvi Pandiarajan, K S Ravikumar and Karunas too pitch in with wonderful performances to make ‘Kara’ a powerful social drama as well.

On the technical front, G V Prakash shows yet again why he is rated so highly when it comes to scoring background music. His music is apt and amplifies the emotion being showcased on screen many times over.

Theni Eswar’s visuals are rustic and beautiful in their own unique way. The visuals have a warm tone to them to go with the intense, gripping story being told on screen.

Sreejith Sarang’s editing could have been a little more tighter. Although the film manages to win your undivided attention for the most part, there are a couple of places that could have been done away with, to bring down the run time.

In all, Vignesh Raja comes up with an intense story that not only entertains but also educates. Full marks for a film made with all heart.