Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Cast: Karthi, Narain

There is a scene early on in ‘Kaithi’ (director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s second after the trendsetting Maanagaram in 2017) where the chirpy Kamatchi (Dheena), a young lad of 23, remarks to Dilli (Karthi) that a lot has changed in the world over the past decade, the time Dilli has spent behind bars on a murder charge. The terrific irony in this is that for Karthi himself, this role is almost a reprisal of the one he played in ‘Paiyya’, about 10 years back at the dawn of his career. Only this time, he finds himself behind the wheels of a lorry instead of a car (his films have definitely become bigger ‘Star Vehicles’)!

‘Kaithi’ has an interesting premise. If you look closely, Dilli and most other prominent characters only find themselves in the bang centre of the plot due to chance and absurd circumstances. Apart from Dilli, there is also Napolean (George Maryan) who has just landed in town on a transfer to join as a Police constable at the Commissioner’s office and a bunch of college students who also land up there on account of a trivial matter. But more on them later.

The main plot in question essentially involves a mammoth drug bust. Not only do the brutal druglords want their stash back, they also plan on taking down the cops who carried out the bust. This group of cops is led by Bejoy (Narain) and he knows only too well how dangerous these thugs could be- the cops have already apprehended a bunch of them and to their surprise, found not just drugs but also dangerous, state of the art firearms (if you’re one for cinematic detail, remember this as you watch the climax) in their possession. Unfortunately for Bejoy, the enemy already seems to be a step ahead. They have just taken out the entire top rung of the local police force rather innocuously, by spiking their drinks at a party. Bejoy now not only has the task of ensuring the safety of the busted drug stash, but also has to transport forty odd top cops to a hospital with no time to lose..and he has to accomplish all this without the media or anyone else catching wind of it! Now in step Dilli, a sombre ex-con who is desperately keen to meet his young daughter for the first time (she is not even aware he exists and is lodged in an orphanage). Before that though, Bejoy needs a favour of him. He needs him behind the wheels of a lorry that’s the only available mode to transport the ailing cops. He also needs him then to drive him to the Commissioner’s office where the stash is ingeniously hidden (I loved the narrative around this old British building with its tumbling secrets)!

Accompanied by the young and gleeful Kamatchi, the owner of the lorry who also doubles up as the navigator (he claims to be more resourceful than Google Maps!), Bejoy and Dilli set off into the night on this road trip to hell. The director laps up these sequences with some stunning action choreography coupled with ‘massy’ set-ups. ‘You have no idea what I was before I was jailed’, says Dilli to raucous cheers in the theatre as he nonchalantly steps out of the truck to take on hitmen in the first of a series of such scenes. The cinematography is handled by Sathyan Sooryan and his expertise in shooting these low light set-piece scenes is clearly evident (he also handled the lens before for H.Vinod in Theeran and Mysskin in Yuddham Sei ) as he uses a mix of interesting camera angles and inventive lighting to enhance the tension. However, as the story (or the truck!) moves along, these sequences start feeling a tad repetitive. It’s almost as if the director started running out of interesting ideas and it culminates in this one scene that dangerously flirts with the line that separates the borderline illogical (which we have still come to accept in Kollywood) from the totally farcical (which is a dampener anywhere)!

What salvages this though is the parallel track that takes place at the Commissioner’s office, where the new constable Napoleon and the college students are holed up. With instructions on phone from Bejoy, they are left with the unenviable task of making the building impregnable and keeping the thugs at bay. They do their best to hold fort by using any handy artifacts and this whole segment feels right out of an AR Murugadoss film! Some of the inspired tactics they come up with, especially the one using the loud Audio system are quite epic and thoroughly entertaining. The Production Design is just top notch here and really adds authenticity to the staging of these scenes. All of this climaxes with one bombastic sequence that involves the firing of a mightily formidable machine gun (well, the film was a Diwali release!) and at the end, we are even given a hint of a possible sequel (or maybe a prequel?) by one of the key characters.

‘Kaithi’ is largely entertaining and could have been even better with better writing and crisper editing in a few places. The film felt a good ten minutes longer than it should have been and a shorter run time would have made it even racier. However, just like Dilli and Bejoy in the story who avoid the highways and take various detours instead, the film too avoids treading the beaten path and adds a different flavor to this festive Diwali season!

Overall rating: 3/5