Directed by Pa. Renjith, the new Karthi movie Madras is that absorbing thriller drama that has a quality making. In comparison with the lame films Karthi opted in the recent past, Madras takes him back to that zone where he was appreciated by audience for his acting. With smart making and quality performances backing it, Madras is ultimately a good cinema.
The film takes place in this housing colony in Royapuram where two political parties are trying to dominate. The history of this political war is a bloodshed one and the centre of the debate was always a wall that has the less dominant party’s founder painted on it. Through small fights and disagreements, the rift between the two gangs sustained. The movie actually shows us a phase in that fight which takes this political game to a halt.
Well when you look at it as a Karthi film, I would say it reminded me of his film Naan Mahaan Allai. The feel that Madras gives to you has something similar to that of NMA. The realistic take in showing the situation, life style and relationships is what that makes this movie catchier. You don’t have a usual build up for the hero and even the romance is given less filmy coloring. The major drawback of the film lies in its predictability in the political game plans. The kind of twists that happens in the second half of the movie is something the modern audience can sense from the first half. But by making this clichés look brutal and real on screen, Pa. Renjith manages to blur our critical eye towards the clichéd storyline.
Performance of Karthi was really impressive as he was doing a character that tested his caliber. Catherine Tresa was really good as Kalaiarasi. Kalaiarasan Harikrishnan as Anbu was also memorable. I don’t know every actor’s name in the film but many of them in the cast looked damn good.
As I said, Pa. Renjith succeeds in making the audience forget about the weakness of the story with his making. All those fights, raw romance, natural reactions were captured impressively. The script was good in building the atmosphere and characters. But it lacked fire in creating a unique story. Cinematography was good. Edits were nice. Music was also impressive. Stunts were excellent. Special appreciation to the art team.
So overall it is an impressive comeback from Karthi who failed miserably with his last few films. The rating is 3/5 along with thumbs up for this Pa. Renjith film. It is somewhat a Tamil Gangs of Wasseypur.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
