Imaikkaa Nodigal

Imaikkaa Nodigal- Movie Review

Love. Loss. Ego

Every act in this world is a consequence of love, loss or ego, is what I could absorb from Imaikkaa Nodigal, which seems like quite a food for thought. What could have been a standard and shorter suspense thriller, Imaikkaa Nogidal is unfortunately dragged with a cliché and clearly irritating subplot. But before we dive into what went wrong, this film certainly deserves to be called a decent thriller with strong performances.  While Atharvaa, tested my patience with his mostly blunt acting, Anurag Kashyap and Nayanthara, made me go wow with their killer performances.

Nayanthara, in her second innings, have been cautiously selecting roles which provide her quite a larger platform to perform and justifiably excels in the same too. She is a stylish, strong and talented CBI officer Anjali Vikramadithyan, as usual with a storm behind the calm waters. I was happy to see her completely switching between emotions, something which was kind of missing in her previous roles; there were shades of sadness lurking behind all her emotions on screen. Or was it just me who felt so, not Sure.

Tamil Cinema or films in general I guess are finally coming to terms with the idea that not all negative characters need to look negative. Even the cutest or normal of the individuals can be the villain in a story. Anurag Kashyap, as Rudra aka ACP Martin Roy, excels beyond expectations and years after Aravind Swamy, I finally found one villain I could adore. He performs his role of a psychotic villain with so much ease and conviction that it makes you go crazy at points, this man is immensely talented. 

Stylish as hell, with deadly eyes and robust voice (thanks to director Magizh Thirumeni who dubbed for Anurag), coupled with Hiphop Tamizha's intimidating background score, Rudra is sure to send chills down your spine.

Vijay Sethupathi aka Vikramadithyan, as well established was a clever marketing addition to the plot and does what he is best at. Small portion filled with statement lines, good laughs and an emotional message for his daughter, he was as always, a pleasure to watch on screen.  

The chemistry between Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi was cute just like in “Naanum Rowdy Thaan”. After Vikram Vedha, I have been hearing quiet cold reviews of his performances in movies that came after and hope that the intensity of talent this man possesses, never go wasted.

The daughter of Nayanthara, played by Manasvi Kottachi, deserves a mention too but unfortunately, in my senses, not a positive one. While at few junctures the scenes were cute but mostly I was helpless but to think why we need to portray the children of strong women as so outspoken at a very young age?? 

And no, the kid isn’t talking something sensible, in the lengthiest screen space given to her, she is made to hurl abuses at others.   Maybe it's just me who generally cannot understand how people enjoy when kids irrespective of gender is made to talk and act in a way like adults; can we not let them be kids? Amidst all this, Manasvi is a little bundle of cuteness especially towards the end when Nayanthara shares a subtle yet sweet moment with her.

Coming to my major trouble with the movie; the subplot involving actor Atharvaa and his love life was simply not relevant to the major storyline or rather could have given a clean thriller slot for the movie if that portion was omitted. 

Annoyingly filled with overacting from Atharvaa and his love interest played by actress Raashi Khanna making her debut in Tamil (another trophy fair queen actress for Kollywood- honestly, I have nothing against fair actors but Kollywood’s obsession with fairness but no talent is simply unbearable over years), the subplot brings in every cliché part of a common Kollywood romcom (a hardly noticeable love song, ultimately irritating breakup song and some age-old love troubles). 

Don’t be surprised if you see the pair dancing to the same steps and backdrops of some recent famous Bollywood songs or them enacting cliched scenes from previous Tamil romcoms with no genuine emotions. Halfway into the movie, you will be desperately wondering why director Ajay Gnanamuthu, after his successful horror outing Demonte Colony, chose to focus on so many clichés to build up the commercial aspects for the plot rather than trying to deliver the story crispier and better as it already was.

While the soundtracks by Hiphop Tamizha was hardly noticeable except for one song, just like in his previous movie “Meesaya Murukku”, his background score is worth a mention as it adds a lot of value to the thrill in the screenplay. However, he could take a lesson or two in how to use silence effectively to make a few scenes better.

The action sequences are decent, some are completely illogical but have been cleverly shot in a compelling manner to pass of the issues. Overall, ignoring intricate logical details, make-believe scenes in the sub-plots and predictability, Imaikkaa Nodigal is an engaging thriller with stellar performances.

P.S. Picture Courtesy Indiaglitz and Youtube