Again it’s a late review and happened to catch up with this movie only 3 weeks after it’s release after reading so many rave reviews about it. The attempt was very unique, casting was well done and the script was engaging almost throughout.
A bunch of con men led by Gandhi Babu (Natarajan) go about swindling money from greedy merchants and general public by manoeuvring some uncanny tactics that ranges from selling multi-headed snake to Emu scandal to MLM scandal to rice pulling. Gandhi gets caught at times, but goes scot free, largely thanks to the bureaucratic system and “money power”! When he finds solace in the company of Banu (Ishara Nair), a victim of sort due to his own con game and prepares to settle down, he is confronted with a larger challenge to tackle. How he goes about beating the evil forces with his ever-handy con game forms the rest of the movie.
First thought that came to my mind as I was watching this movie was that it seemed to slyly blend a bit of ‘Thiruttu Payale’ and ‘Soodhu Kavvum’. Though the noir was the least common denominator of all these movies, the way in which the director goes about making the narrative much more engaging by narrating the tactics of the protagonist to con people (read as ‘greedy’ people) was like reading a ‘Sydney Sheldon’ thriller. He allows us to rattle our brains on what is the con mob upto before the actual act takes place and the tactic has worked out!! The heist pulled by the mob using the jewellery store is a perfect example for the above mentioned line of tactic used by the director.
Also each and every character performed to the script’s tune and made sure they justified their roles. Natarajan, the cinematographer turned actor was the perfect choice for the cunning protagonist’s role. The way he manages to con people was depicted so convincingly on screen such that it made good sense.
Songs and sentimental values at the end were a bit of a dampener but still the movie managed to race past the finishing line with a convincing script, peppered with dark humor and more than average performance by the artists!!
Rating: 3 / 5
Verdict: Good!
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