'Iraivan' - An ambitious psycho thriller that ends up being lackluster.
Nowadays, thrillers have become a trend in Tamil cinema. Psycho thrillers are especially one of the genres that are hot in the trade. Recent films and series in that genre have managed to satisfy the audience. Now, Jayam Ravi is back with the psycho thriller 'Iraivan' after the success of 'Ponniyin Selvan'. The expectations for this movie skyrocketed after the trailer. Directed by I Ahmed, the film marks the reunion of the 'Thani Oruvan' pair Ravi and Nayanthara. We will see if Iraivan stands up to the hype it had.
The film opens with the introduction of a violent cop Arjun (Jayam Ravi). He believes that God can't punish everyone and so, he plays God and goes on encountering a lot of criminals. His friend Andrew (Narain) is the one who supports Arjun and does damage control for his ruthless encounters in the police department. Andrew's sister Priya (Nayanthara) is in love with Arjun. Andrew's wife Jasmine (Vijayalakshmi) insists the two to get married but Arjun isn't into marriage. Meanwhile, Arjun and Andrew are set out to catch a psychopathic killer Bramma (Rahul Bose) who targets young girls in the city. After months of struggle, the cops manage to capture him but Arjun loses his friend Andrew in this mayhem. Arjun resigns his job after Andrew's death and takes care of his friend's wife, sister and child. His life takes a turn when Bramma escapes from the police and targets Arjun and his dear ones. Was Arjun able to stop Bramma is the crux of the story.
Jayam Ravi is super gritty in this aggressive cop role. He is a perfect fit for this grey shades character which talks less. Rahul Bose nailed the smiley killer Bramma role but Vinod Kishan's character and performance is a surprise package in Iraivan. He did complete justice to the character. On the other hand, the rest of the characters lacked depth in writing and the actors asked what they were asked of. Nayanthara, Narain, Vijayalakshmi, Azhagam Perumal, Charlie, Sanjana Tiwari, Ashish Vidyarthi, Bhagavathi Perumal and other roles were just passing clouds in this film.
Iraivan is a film with smart ideas and an interesting premise but the writing was all over the place. However, we can sense the essence of iconic characters like 'Joker' and 'Johan Liebert' from Batman and Monster (anime) in the psychopath portions. Other than the hero and villain, characters felt artificial and generic which resulted in a lack of emotional connection. The audience can't get a hold of where the story is headed and it's a notable issue in the screenplay. Many of the scenes were weak and too cinematic.
DOP Hari K Vedantam's visual treatment and Manikanda Balaji's editing are big pillars of the film while Yuvan Shankar Raja's songs and score were forgettable. Director Ahmed has crafted Iraivan well and there were some exciting sequences such as the interval stretch and the very final scene but the staging could have been better.
Verdict: Arjun and Bramma characters are the only takeaway from this mediocre psycho thriller movie.
