FIR - A message driven thriller that works in parts

Vishnu Vishal is known for his choice of scripts in different genres that make every film of his unique for his fans.  His 'FIR' too follows in the same vein touching the sensitive issue of branding muslims as terrorist.  Whether the film will make an impact with the audience remains to be seen.

Irfan (Vishnu Vishal) is a muslim youth who lives with his mother and struggles to find a job of his liking due to his religion eyed suspiciously by society.  He has broken up with his college sweetheart Archana (Reba Monica John) a Brahmin girl and is on friendly terms with a lawyer Prarthana (Manjima Mohan).  Meanwhile a terrorist named Abu Bhakkar Abdullah threatens to bomb various places in Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country.  The NIA headed by Gautham Vasudev Menon with operatives Anisha Qureshi (Raiza Wilson) and Vignesh Vijayan are at a loss as to the identity of the terrorist.  Irfan who finally settles for a job with a chemical manufacturer becomes a suspect on one of his job visits and is nabbed by the officials.   During police torture Irfan confesses that he is the dreaded terrorist.  What happens next forms the rest of the screenplay of FIR.

Vishnu Vishal has delivered one of his best performances to date as Irfan.  He excels in the scene in which he speaks with his mother on the phone when she is in the hospital.   He is also very effective when performing the stunts in the climax and also when he drives home the message of the film at the end.  Raiza Wilson is terrific as the fiery NIA official who puts duty before religion while Manjima Mohan is neat as the helpful friend.   Reba Monica John in a surprise role makes an impact in the climax.  Parvathi T as the mother, Vignesh Vijayan as the junor official, Abhishek Joseph George as Riaz and Ram C as the mastermind are all aptly cast.  Gautham Vasudev Menon brings style to the NIA chief's role and he is in focus during the climax though the Prime Minister caricature dilutes the effect.

What works best in 'FIR' is the last half hour when the film arrives at the point it was trying to make all that while.  It is heartening to see four female characters (Raiza, Reba, Manjima and Parvathi T) getting impactful scope in the screenplay.  Following Simbu's 'Maanaadu' this film too has a muslim character as the hero and honestly deals with stigma faced by the community especially in relation to terrorism.  How the very name spells danger and tragedy to them is well emphasized.  The stunt choreography is vibrant.  The twist at the very end is interesting and compensates to a certain extent the lacklustre scenes in the middle.

On the downside the screenplay is contrived to an uneasy extent and expositions are handled in an amateurish manner.  The scenes involving YouTuber Prashanth as a hacker are not only unfunny but make a mockery of National Security agencies.  The result is that the very believability of the film is damaged.   The long term plan of the NIA to nab the mastermind terrorist and the infiltration of the agent into the camp as shown in the film are not very convincing.   There are noticeable lags in the pacing as well.

Arul Vincent's cinematography, G.K. Prasanna's editing and Ashwath's background score help elevate the 'FIR' above the average.  Vishnu Vishal has backed yet another different film providing high production values.  Manu Anand shows much promise on debut and has delivered a thought provoking action thriller.

Verdict : Go for this action packed thriller with a few interesting twists and turns