Andrew Louis' Kolaigaran starts as a whodunit thriller. A murder takes place, the victim's face is seen clearly, her throat is slit and blood splatters. We know what we are set for. But one thing that is hard to understand is the inconsistencies in revealing information about the crime. A few details look unnecessary, while some look force-fitted to hide the surprise element. In spite of all this, the film has the potential to become a good thriller.
Right from the start, the film keeps giving us hints that Prabhakaran (Vijay Antony) is a killer. His character has certain idiosyncrasies like following Dharani (Ashima Narwal) wherever she goes. He emotes well in the serious scenes, but when it comes to the romantic portions, there is a certain sense of uneasiness due to lack of chemistry.
Arjun, on the other hand, plays Inspector Karthikeyan with utmost subtlety and conviction. Though his role reminds you of a lot of his earlier ones, it does provide enough firepower. The scenes between Karthikeyan and Prabhakaran are superbly complemented by Simon K King's background score. It lends a sense of eeriness, at the same time keeps us on the edge of the seat. Nasser's role adds more flavour to the investigation, and his perspective kind of resonates with our perspective, increasing the connect with the film.
The cinematographer playing with the lights look exciting in certain portions, but the same cannot be said of the choice of colours. The desaturated tone used in the sequences inside a house did not fit the scheme of things, at the same time it isn't outrightly bad.
The first half moves at a normal pace (the second song could have been shorter) and doesn't have the punch that a whodunit requires. Since there are very few suspects, it is quite easy to guess the killer. Therefore, when the film reveals a surprise during the interval block, it is not that effective. From a whodunit, the film slowly shifts focus to why the murders took place, and that takes up the entire second half. A section of audience might find Prabhakaran's motive slightly unconvincing, but it isn't much of a problem.
There are momentary highs at places, their consistency and sustainability is a question left unanswered. Nevertheless, the way in which Karthikeyan solves the crime and finds the killer is engaging and enjoyable at the same time. Comparing this film with a murder, it has enough stuff to strangle a victim but doesn't bother to check if he/she is dead. On the whole, the short run time of less than 2 hours, and the director showing us various perspectives of the same murder works really well.