Gangster films have become a pet theme now. Though several movies have come on underworld, director Sanjay Ram deserves a pat for making one that is at once sincere and simple without taking recourse to anything fancy or frivolous.
Seemingly inspired by Ramgopal Verma's films, Sanjay Ram's film is slick and engrossing. Packed with newcomers, the film has a fresh feel and doesn't fail to strike a chord.
All the newcomers have played their parts well. Debutant Maniprakash and the new heroine Vennila have given all the right expressions and look at ease. Though the former reminds one of Suriya in Nandha, his body language and dialogue delivery are worth a mention, considering this to be his maiden outing. He promises a lot in his maiden venture itself.
Praveen Mani's background score adds to the momentum. His brisk re-recording is the real backbone for the movie. T Leo's cinematography captures Tirunelveli well.
The entire movie occurs in Tirunelveli. Mandhiran (Maniprakash), an orphan is forced to become a gangster. He works for a bigwig Sadayan (Damodhara Raju). He, along with his gang, mercilessly kills innocent people, loots them of cash and jewels and kills people for money. A special team of police headed by Vellaithurai (Sudhakar Vasanth) is on their trail.
Mandhiran comes across Gayathri (Vennila), a Brahmin girl. After a few encounters, they both fall in love. Mandhiran helps her family win a property dispute and he earns the goodwill of Gayathri's father (Poovilangu Mohan).
The rest is a cat and mouse game between the police and Mandhiran's gang. Whether he marries Gayathri or not forms the climax.
A quick narration of events is the highlight of the movie. Sanjay Ram has ensured that no momentum is lost anywhere in the film. The director seems to have done intense research about the presence of underworld in southern districts and got it right on the screen.
The director can certainly feel proud for making an honest and sincere attempt, which is strikingly different from films of the same genre.
