Director: Ajay Gnanamuthu

Cast: Nayanthara, Atharvaa, Rashi Khanna, Anurag Kashyap, Vijay Sethupathi

‘There’s no such thing as simple. Simple is hard’- Martin Scorcese

What is more difficult for a director than to get his first break in Tamil cinema? It is making his second film! While the first film is always a director’s purest expression of his creative prowess, the second film invariably comes with bigger burdens (and a bigger budget)! Ajay Gnanamuthu took the industry by storm with a stunning directorial debut in 2015 with DeMonte Colony. He is back with his second film Imaikkaa Nodigal where he dabbles with the crime and mystery genre. He also gets a stellar cast to work with this time round and has opted to base a large part of the story in Bengaluru, which is a pleasant departure from other Tamil films that are mostly based in Chennai or other cities in Tamil Nadu.

Bengaluru is rocked as a series of kidnappings and killings haunt the city. What is more intriguing is that a serial killer, long thought to be dead by the name of Rudra (Anurag Kashyap) claims responsibility for these killings. CBI Officer Anjali (Nayanthara) who had been responsible for solving the Rudra case earlier is back in the frame as pressure mounts from the media and public alike demanding answers. In a parallel track, Arjun (Atharvaa), Anjali’s brother and Krithika (Rashi Khanna) are going through a rough phase in their relationship. Arjun decides to travel to Bengaluru to try and repair his broken relationship with Krithika, but in the process, gets inadvertently entangled in his sister’s Rudra case. Rudra now seems to be intent on framing Arjun for all the murders and Arjun decides to investigate and fight back as Rudra kidnaps Krithika too over the course of events. Arjun’s investigation however leads him to some chilling findings about the case and it becomes clear that not all is what it seems. There is also a cameo appearance from Vijay Sethupathi in a flashback sequence as Nayanthara’s husband and the film climaxes with some interesting twists as the CBI tries to close in on the elusive Rudra.

Though the Director manages to capture the audience’s attention with twists and revelations at the right places, the film does feel a bit stretched. A shorter, crisper film would have been apt. The length and placement of the flashback sequence and some songs also disrupt the pace of the film. The actors have all done a brilliant job and the surprise package is Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap who steals the show. Hip Hop Thamizha’s score helps to keep the momentum going and RD Rajasekhar’s cinematography is to be lauded, especially while filming the bicycle chase scenes. You do question some logical points in the film, especially how Arjun manages to escape quite easily from the hospital when there seems to be a red alert to capture him. These scenes seem too convenient and the Director could have probably invested a bit more time in writing and staging them. The same can be said about the flashback that could have had a stronger plot.  Overall, the film is a very good attempt that could have been even better with a shorter run time and a crisper second half.

At the time of writing this, the film has been released on Amazon prime. Do give it a watch there if you missed it in the theatres!

Overall rating: 3/5