KANITHAN MOVIE REVIEW
AR Murugadoss’s protégé TN Santhosh makes his directorial debut with Kanithan, a suspense action thriller about a television reporter who tries to bring down a fake document criminal gang. As far as these suspense action genre goes, when the film provides a right mix of commercial elements, it is bound to work big. So has the mathematician (Kanithan) got his calculations right? Glance down to find out.
After a sluggish start the film picks up speed once the story is established and from there on it is rollercoaster ride till the end of the first half. The second half of Kanithan holds you but doesn’t grip you as one might expect, after a fast paced first half. While it is occasionally predictable, there are a few scenes that might surprise you.
Atharvaa is fresh from the success of Eetti and he would like to keep up the momentum going. The guy is turning into a full time action hero at the age of 26. Why should he not? He looks super fit, has a great screen presence for his age. To carry a script like this on his shoulders at such an early stage of his career and that too quite convincingly requires some level of conviction.
The cat and mouse game between the hero and the antagonist works well. Jab We Met fame Tarun Arora plays the main villain here and he looks like the typical classy looking devious baddie that you find in AR Murugadoss films. Though the approach and the treatment look original and different, you will find some uncanny resemblances with Vijay’s Thuppakki, especially during the investigation scenes and the pre-interval block fight portions.
Humor scenes don’t work much so were the love portions. A couple of songs could have been easily put away with. The songs and romance play spoilsport as it completely slows down the narration and also deviates the attention of the audience from the core plot. Particularly ‘Modern Ponnathan’ comes in as a huge roadblock. ‘Yappa Chappa’ is easily the best and the most catchy number from the film.
The stunt sequences are one of the most captivating facets of the film. Dhilip Subbarayan must be credited for such lively and intriguing display of high octane stunts of the highest order. Chase and fight scenes were very well-choreographed.
There is nothing that we haven’t seen here before in terms of suspense or chases but the core theme is fresh and carries some kick to it. What could have been an intelligent crackerjack suspense entertainer ends up being a medially engaging product due to few lackluster moments and some sluggish screenplay in the second half. Despite its flaws, this savvy thriller is worth watching once mainly for some exhilarating action sequences, Atharvaa’s top class performance and a few adrenaline pumping moments.
