Irumbu Thirai is basically about Kathiravan (Vishal), an army officer with anger management issues. He eventually gets suspended for bashing a civilian and is asked to meet a psychiatrist to work on his issues. In the process, he goes back home to sort out his issues, with his family. And that’s when he stumbles upon a conspiracy putting his career in a jeopardy.
Irumbu Thirai is not just any other film that talks about hackers, this one is quite different, mainly because it creates fear inside you when you walk out of the theatre. It is so hard-hitting and informative. There are so many technical terms involved in the narrative, so it is important that you stay completely focused right through. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a section of the audience not able to follow the script due to the complexity involved in it.
The director seems to have so much of anger towards this concept called personal information theft. He has beautifully built an action script based on it that can be loved by people from all walks of life. At places you might wonder if the director is blowing up the issue a little much, but that’s unavoidable because he needs to create an impact in a short span of time. It sure is one of the most confidently made debuts in Tamil cinema. Mithran’s hard work and self-confidence is evident from what he has offered us.
The initial phase is largely family driven with some comedies that work while the core plot is cleverly built side by side. It had a very good setup for an action-packed second half. Robo Shankar scores whenever he finds an opportunity; watch out for the scene where he imitates Delhi Ganesh’s Sindhu Bhairavi character. Delhi Ganesh has a commendable and sizable presence in the movie as Kathir’s father.
Samantha though with limited screen-presence has a character that is noteworthy to mention. She is not the typical commercial cinema heroine who makes glamorous appearances in the songs and used for some comic relief. Mithran needs to be praised for not making a quintessential love story out of Samantha. She comes in as a psychiatrist and does what she needs to do and nothing more. Special thanks for not disturbing the second half with unwanted songs.
Coming back to our main man Vishal, he looks tight and muscular. His prowess fights is well-known and Mithran has packaged and presented the movie perfectly in sync with Vishal’s skills. At first we see him as a dashing carefree military officer, then we see the emotional side of Kathir and when all hell breaks loose, he shows you his action side.
To have an impactful hero, you need a strong and menacing villain. Arjun is just so perfect for this script and when he reasons out his action saying ‘I do evil things because I can,’ that sums up his character. The scene where Vishal and Arjun meet in an elevator is an iconic moment that will definitely be talked about.
Though Yuvan’s songs are functional, his background score is pulsating and plays an integral part in the movie especially during the pre-interval point and during the scenes where Vishal and Arjun meet. George C Williams’ camerawork looks flawless while Ruban’s editing is seamless and makes sure that the movie is not boring one bit even though the runtime is close to 2 hours 45 minutes.
To wrap it up, Irumbu Thirai should turn out to be a rewarding experience for the audience who like action movies.