Review – Kolaigaran

Film: Kolaigaran

Director: Andrew Louis

Cast: Vijay Antony, Arjun, Nasser, Ashima Nariwal, Bhagavathi Perumal and others

Music: Simon K King

Cinematography: Mukes

Editor: Richard Kevin A

Director Andrew Louis’s Kolaigaran is a classy, clean, engaging investigative thriller that keeps you guessing from start to finish.

It is hard to believe that this is Louis’s debut film. That is because the manner in which he narrates the story is so fine that you are completely convinced that this can be packaged in so perfect a manner only by a guy who has done this so many other times.

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Almost everything about the film is perfect. Right from its casting to its story to the manner in which the plot is narrated to how it concludes, there is not a single point that one can make against the film.

The film has zero technical errors. Almost all actors are bang on target with their performances as well. Be it Vijay Antony as Prabhakaran or Arjun as Investigating Officer Karthikeyan or Ashima Narwal as Dharani, each actor turns into the character that he or she plays.

The film starts off with the murder of a girl, whose throat is slashed by an unidentified man. Soon, the plot shifts to another part of town where a partly burnt male body has been found. The cops are called in by a passerby and officer Karthikeyan (Arjun) descends on the scene. Systematically and doggedly, the cops collect the evidence taking care not to contaminate the crime scene. From the clues that they get, they manage to arrive at the conclusion that the partly burnt body is that of a man identified  as Vamsi, the younger brother of a powerful politician from Andhra Pradesh.

The moment it is established that the body is that of a minister’s brother, the case assumes significance and is accorded top priority. It is not before long that the cops realize that Dharani and her mother who have moved to Chennai from Hyderabad a couple of years ago have something to do with Vamsi’s death.

But they do not know how to nail the two as they seem to have help coming from someone else – help that puts them ahead of the cops always…

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One of the most important factors for me when I watch an investigative thriller is whether all the knots are neatly tied up by the time the end card is on display. Andrew Louis does that with a flourish. He neatly ties up all the knots and answers every question that is bound to arise in the mind of a viewer at different stages in the film.

The film borrows its basic plot from a Japanese book but full marks to Andrew for having customized it beautifully to suit the tastes of the Tamil audience.

The film has two lovely numbers and the background score is just perfect. Music director Simon King can be proud of his work in this film and if his work in this film is any indication, Tamil cinema has yet another classy music director in its fray who can give the best in the world a run for their money.

Mukes’s visuals are sharp, neat, bright and attention gathering. In short, they are everything that they should be. Editor Richard Kevin deserves a special round of applause for keeping the film taut and neat. There is not a single scene in the film that is redundant or unnecessary. To narrate a meaningful, convincing story in a matter of a 110 minutes is an achievement and that could have been made possible only by a fine editor. Richard Kevin is clearly a professional to watch out for.

This film is bound to bring back Vijay Antony back in the spotlight. Ashima Narwal will have more opportunities coming her way after this film.

In short, Kolaigaran is easily the best pick of this week and it is highly recommended for all audiences, meaning you can watch this film in peace with your entire family.