FIR Review

'FIR' hit the screens this Friday. In this section, we are going to review the box-office release.

Story:

Irfan (Vishnu Vishal) is a Muslim youth who lives with his mother and struggles to find a job of his liking due to his religion. He faces discrimination everywhere.

He has broken up with his college sweetheart Archana (Reba Monica John), a Brahmin girl, and is on friendly terms with a lawyer Prarthana (Manjima Mohan). Meanwhile, a terrorist named Abu Bhakkar Abdullah threatens to bomb various places in the State and other parts of the country.  The NIA headed by Gautham Vasudev Menon along with operatives Anisha Qureshi (Raiza Wilson) and Vignesh Vijayan are at a loss as to the identity of the terrorist. Irfan, who finally settles for a job with a chemical manufacturer, becomes a suspect on one of his job visits and is nabbed by the officials.

During police torture, Irfan confesses that he is the dreaded terrorist. What happens next forms the rest of the screenplay of FIR.

Analysis:

Vishnu Vishal has delivered one of his best performances to date as the protagonist. He excels in the scene in which he speaks with his mother on the phone when she is in the hospital. He is also very effective when performing the stunts in the climax and also when he drives home the message of the film at the end. Raiza Wilson is terrific as the fiery NIA official who puts duty before religion while Manjima Mohan is neat as a helpful friend. Reba Monica John in a surprise role makes an impact in the climax. Parvathi T as the mother, Vignesh Vijayan as the junior official, Abhishek Joseph George as Riaz and Ram C as the mastermind are all aptly cast. Gautham Vasudev Menon brings style to the NIA chief's role and he is in focus during the climax.

What works best in 'FIR' is the last half hour when the film is brief and effective. It is heartening to see four female characters getting impactful scope in the screenplay. Following Simbu's 'Maanaadu', this film too has a Muslim character as the hero and honestly deals with stigma faced by the community especially in relation to terrorism.

The stunt choreography is vibrant. The twist at the very end is interesting and compensates to a certain extent the lackluster scenes in the middle.

On the downside, the screenplay is contrived to an uneasy extent and expositions are handled in an amateurish manner. The scenes involving YouTuber Prashanth as a hacker are not only unfunny but make a mockery of National Security agencies. The result is that the very believability of the film is damaged. The long-term plan of the NIA to nab the mastermind terrorist and the infiltration of the agent into the camp as shown in the film are not very convincing. There are noticeable lags in the pacing as well.

Arul Vincent's cinematography, G.K. Prasanna's editing and Ashwath's background score help elevate the 'FIR' above the average. Director Manu Anand shows much promise on debut and has delivered a thought-provoking action thriller.

Verdict:

If you are someone who enjoys taut action thrillers, give 'FIR' a try.