After a laudable performance in Bala’s “Paradesi”, all eyes on AtharvaaMurali for the acting skills he portrayed arrived with a bang. As you step inside the theatres to watch IrumbuKuthirai, one would expect some high speed chases, Bikes n Babes, some stylish action sequences in store. So has the youngster Yuvraj Bose exceeded the expectations with this highly knowledgeable cast and a leisure budget to play with? Let’s find out
The movie:
Firstly a good round of applause for Yuvaraj for choosing a concept that trots around bikes, something never explored. And that’s about it, the movie should have ideally pulled bike lovers into the screens for the trailers screamed with zest and style, however the director misses to deliver the best out of the ingredients. Briefly, the movie is about the hero who is a slow poke when it comes to biking, and how a sudden turn out of events catapults the speedster in him.
Movie shoots off with a BGM that screams the signature of Hans Zimmer’s OST all over, Dark Knight, and especially on the lines of Tron Legacy. Taking time to introduce his lead characters, Yuvaraj stresses a lot of time on the love that blossoms between Atharvaa and PriyaAnand, though cute and cuddly, the long pauses between a conversations makes you wonder if the scene has come to an end abruptly. Move over stereotype mom’s, the new generation mothers are not what you have seen over the years and Devadarshini steals the show as the responsible yet ultra-cool mom.
Through the first half the buildup of characters, love, reminiscence of the hero’s past consume the length and we get to shift in our chairs wondering when the flashy bikes and stunts would begin, what we get to see in the second half does little justification to fulfill our expectations.
What works:
The film’s climax and the end credits takes lion share of the movie’s positives. GopiAmarnath’s action sequences deserve a special mention for some clinical touches. Gurudev’s choice of a unique tone for the camera pulls off well, starting from a picturesque presentation of Pondy to the racy bike scenes it has paved off well. Cast wise there is not much scope for Atharvaa to emote and show his acting skills, even though he looks like a fitting dude ready to perform what’s delegated to him and PriyaAnand is quite charming as usual in her chic attitude. Johnny Tri Nguyen is a load of talent, problem is that there is no room for exposition. In the rest of the cast, Devadarshini is the only winner, with LakshmRai’s occasional oomph and Jegan’s sputter of jokes.
Yuvaraj’s choice of story is a winner even though the execution has gone haywire. With a proper motive and the essential glue of screenplay the movie could have gone heights.
What doesn’t :
The movie has everything at disposal for a great blockbuster, a handsome storyline that revolves around bikes; something that the youngsters crave for. A villain who is sought even in Hollywood for his menacing stunts and action, an ultra-modern hero-heroine, slick stunts and the list could go on. But all of these do not click together to get the horse galloping, instead gets sucked into the quicksand of slow and lost screenplay.
Why, How and what:
1. The audience of the current age is quite intelligent, and one gets to wonder how the sequences taken in abroad are being passed off as India.
2. The talk was that Atharvaa had to go through rigorous training for biking from Italian bikers, where is the justification for that?
3. Why the long pauses between normal conversations?
4. The character of Jhonny Tri Nguyen was never etched in a convincing manner, adding to his Tamil diction woes.
5. India’s best female racing champion Alisha makes a special appearance, where? In a kuthu song and then she disappears!
6. The song placement, not one clicks through the movie.
To sum up, a movie that could have paved its way to box office success, just muzzles through to the finish line.
Verdict : Crosses the finish line lethargically!
Star : 2.5 / 5
