Director: R.Kannan
Cast: Atharvaa Murali, Megha Akash
‘Boomerang’ opens with scenes of a young man (Siva played by Atharvaa) being treated for severe facial burns, whose only hope for a cure lies in a rare facial transplant. Luckily for him, he finds a willing donor in Sakthi (also played by Atharvaa) who is on life support and moments away from death.
A new face comes with a lot of getting used to, not just for Siva himself, but for others as well. At home, there’s his mother who has his ‘new’ photo pinned up on the kitchen cupboard, just so that she familiarizes herself with it and outside, there are the cops who think he drives around with a doctored license! But looming over these trivialities is a more sinister danger, as Siva is attacked multiple times by unknown assailants, apparently in a case of mistaken identity. There is obviously an eventful past associated with his donor Sakthi and Siva realizes the urgency to discover more. There is also Gee Gee (Megha Akash), who falls for Siva and there is quite an interesting twist here, if you choose to ignore some logical questions that might spring up in your mind, that is! Siva’s search for answers about Sakthi takes him to Trichy and here, he does finally find some.
Where Boomerang didn’t really work for me was that it was highly templatized. There is a sense of dejavu watching the action unfold. The scenes in the flashback, where Sakthi and his friends fight for the farmers are all highly predictable. The core concept of Sakthi’s fight is interesting and even contemporary to an extent, but the way it is packaged is a case of old wine in a new bottle. The late introduction of the villain played by Upen Patel only adds more confusion to the potpourri and his part is all rushed. Sathish and RJ Balaji try their best to add comic relief and it works to some extent, but this is like adding exotic toppings to a half baked pizza.
Ultimately, it does feel like an opportunity to weave an interesting, if not complex story, has been missed here. The similarities to films from the past, especially Kaththi, are a little unnerving and you would hope filmmakers and producers in Kollywood start trusting audiences more and move away from these tedious, formulaic offerings. I know this is wishful thinking, but hey, I’m just throwing the boomerang out there, hoping someday it will return with some acknowledgment and affirmation!
Overall rating: 1.5/5
