Arivazhagan is more remembered for his impressive “Eeram” that was a favorite of critics and masses alike. With Kuttram 23 he tries to straddle medical thriller and with “Yaakai” another movie in this genre releasing along it is interesting to see how K23 is different.
The story is a bold take and in a no holds barred screenplay does not beat around the bush. The plot is “super specialty” in “medical thriller” and takes on medical crime in a rather intriguing manner. The investigation mode of screenplay helps audience stay glued to their seat and is does not falter much throughout the movie. The romance is kept subtle with the suspense on screen relentless while the climax could have been handled better. The comedy is the only hitch and thankfully is sparse.
Arun Vijay comes out with flying colours and in a meaty role aces all departments. He surprises with his portrayal of emotions even in melodramatic scenes and deserves applause. Mahima Nambiar as his love interest delivers a very mature performance unlike the usual stereo types and is the surprise package in the movie. Abhinaya is good in her role while Thambi Ramaiah can get a little annoying and boring with his typical mannerisms. The others are OK.
K23 scores well technically on all fronts. The cinematography captures the suspense well while Vishal Chandrashekar delivers an absorbing background score, though the songs are just average. Editing by Bhuvan is crisp while the dialogues are neat. Arivazhagan in the direction and the writing department keeps it tight and is in form.
With K23 Arivazhagan and his team have a clear winner but on the flip side it is preachy and tries to impose moral values which can be misleading and the way “fertility hospitals” and their treatment methods are brandished might not be a good sign. There are even subtle shades of “chauvinism’ that could have been avoided.
KUTTRAM 23 – VETTRI !!!
3/5
B.U.Shreesha
