Chiyaan Vikram has a winner in Kandasamy. It is pure commercial masala entertainer that strikes a fine balance between style and substance, and also has a neat message. Susi Ganeshan has constructed an engrossing action driven adventure with panache.
The film has all the trademark superhero-movie elements like flashy action scenes and eye-popping special effects. But in many ways, it is not the typical super-hero film that one imagines it to be. Well, that’s the twist in the tale which we will not reveal as it will be a spoiler.
Kandasamy opens with scenes showing ordinary people flocking to a Murugan temple which has become famous as all your wishes can be fulfilled at the temple. All those who submit their woes as petitions to Kandasamy (another name for Lord Muruga) on a piece of paper and tie it to a tree in the temple, their problems mainly financial are solved.
Soon Kandasamy (Vikram) becomes a phenomenon, a caped crusader dressed as a rooster, takes up letters of ordinary folks from the petition tree, and in a Robin Hood way provides cash and succor. The local DIG of Police (Prabhu) suspects that there is something unnatural about it and starts investigating.
Meanwhile there is this brave and daring CBI officer Kandasamy (Vikram), who is on a mission to uncover black money and illegal wealth of rich and corrupt Indians stashed in foreign banks, which he believes is responsible for all the crime in our society. And our hero has the IQ of a genius, the strength of a bull and the speed of a cheetah.
Soon he crosses swords with Pallur Paramajyoti Ponnusamy or PPP (Ashish Vidyarti), the man with a golden tooth and conducts a raid in his palatial bungalow and finds unaccounted cash and documents of various foreign deals worth over Rs 1000 crore! PPP is devastated after the raid and his only daughter Subbalakshmi (Shriya Saran) swears revenge and pretends to fall in love with the dashing IPS officer.
What is the connection between masked crusader Kandasamy and the CBI officer Kandasamy? Why is the CBI Joint Director Krishna Rao (Telugu actor Krishna) protecting Mr. Kandasamy? Can the villains- PPP, Rajmohan of RMG group, and Mexican Pitchumani (Alex) expose and bring Kandasamy to trial? Will the DIG succeed in proving that Kandasamy is no God? The underlining message in the film is, “Money (read black) is the root cause of all evil”.
Don’t ask the answers to all these questions, the idea is to have a chill out time. Watch the action which is fast paced even though slightly long ( 3 hours 12 minutes), chew on your popcorn as the adrenaline goes pumping. The rooster Kandasamy introduction scene where he comes crashing through the dome of a police station, and plays around with the bad comic cop (Mansoor Ali Khan) is terrific.
But the highlight is Kandasamy dressed as a woman, a la Aishwarya Rai and teaching Charly and Mayilsamy a fitting lesson is hilarious. The verbal foreplay between the quarrelsome Kandasamy and Subbalakshmi is quite ticklish, and Kandasamy’s blindfolded action scenes in Mexico are stunning.
Technically the film is chic with slick production values. The innovative camera angles and lighting of cinematographer NK Ekambaram makes the film visually stunning. He has given a different colour tone to the Mexico episode of the film. Thotta Tharini’s set designs are fabulous, the luxury bedroom of the heroine and the interior of the plush bus used as villain’s hide out is fantastic. The VFX work of Movinstilz makes it picture perfect, the night effect scenes especially the fight scene in the corn field.
Music of Devi Sri Prasad blends with the mood of the film. Two of the six songs, Excuse me Mr.Kandasamy… and Yen Peru Meenakumari have been well picturised and lavishly shot. There is grandeur and richness in every shot in the film, no wonder it took two years to complete. Susy Ganeshan who does a cameo in the film joins the big league of directors in Tamil for directing an adventurous film with an underlying message.
But the film indubitably belongs to Vikram and he rocks. He is mesmerizing and has given an extra dimension to the characters he plays in the film and steers it to the winning post. There are very few people in Indian cinema who can do the larger-than-life fantasy character as easily as Vikram.
Shriya sizzles throughout and carries the glamorous role with élan and the attitude. Prabhu fits the role of an investigative cop, while the villains are a bit clichéd. Some of the film’s most enjoyable moments are Vadivel‘s comedy track as Thengakadai Thenappan. The scene where Prabhu takes him to the police station for questioning and uses water cannon is a scream!
In short, Kandasamy is a roller coaster ride of pure unadulterated masala. So go ahead, make your matinee
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