Agilan is a film written and directed by N Kalyana Krishnan and produced by Screen Scene Media Entertainment. The film has Jayam Ravi and Priya Bhavani Shankar in the lead roles while Tanya Ravichandran, Hareesh Peradi, Harish Uthaman, Madhusudhan Rao and others play crucial supporting roles. It has music by Sam CS and cinematography by Vivek Anand.
Agilan (Jayam Ravi) is a crane operator in a private port in Chennai and is involved in smuggling drugs for a local gangster (played by Hareesh Peradi). He is continuously at loggerheads with a special police officer appointed by the Finance Ministry, and union leader Jananathan (played by Madhusudhan Rao). What are his ulterior motives, and why does he take part in smuggling drugs and human trafficking forms the rest of the plot.
Director Kalyana Krishnan is someone who comes from SP Jhananathan's school of films, Agilan is no different from it, as the film speaks about how ports and cargo ships impact the everyday economy of a common man in any country, and the global hunger issue as a whole. When compared to Jhananathan's works, or even Kalyana Krishnan's previous film Booloham, one must say this one is slightly alienated from the common man.
This is mainly because the above mentioned films directly show the impact of those politics on the common man, thereby emotionally connecting with the audience. In Agilan, the issue is explained properly through dialogues, but there are no scenes showing the consequences or effects. Therefore it feels like a lesson on global politics and less like a film, no matter how noble the intent/messaging is.
Jayam Ravi carries the entire film as Agilan - The King of the Indian Ocean. The stunt choreography and his physical appearance in the film go hand in hand, and that engages us to a certain extent. Apart from him, Priya Bhavani Shankar performs with utmost sincerity in her limited screen time. Among the supporting cast, everyone has done their job well, but it is Madhusudhan Rao who plays the role of a union leader, who stands out.
The director names the union leader Jhananathan, thereby paying a tribute to the late director, and those scenes work well emotionally, at the same time fitting with the narrative seamlessly. Usually when a film speaks about global politics, there is always a possibility to go overboard with the message coming out as cringeworthy, but Agilan is safe on that front.
Sam CS' background score is pulsating, although moments of silence here and there would have worked wonders. The Dhrogam song at the start is groovy with fantastic lyrics, and the song in the second half which is more of an instrumental is also placed well without disturbing the screenplay.
Overall, Agilan is a film with fantastic performances and background score that deserved a better screenplay. The second half lags a lot while the first half is a complete opposite to it. Despite having a good message, not connecting well with the audience makes the film like a fantastic lecture in a classroom where the students have already zoned out. A watchable flick.