Ghatikudu Review

Whenever there is a film from Suriya, the expectations are high and there is also an element of variety offered from him. So this time, he has come up with `Ghatikudu' and let us see how different it has been from his earlier ventures.

A strict judge (Ramesh Kanna) is made the head of an enquiry commission that is checking on the deaths of several children. He has done his investigation and in a week's time he is about to submit his report. This causes worry to the bad guy Dr Abdul (Rahul dev) and he gives a killing contract to Ashok (Suriya) who is based in Kolkata. Ashok is a sharp shooter who grows up with Ibrahim (Sayaji) and never misses his target. However, when the time comes, he misses the mark and things go wrong. However, Ashok doesn't give up and decides to give one more shot. This time, he disguises himself as a relative to Banerjee (Vadivelu) who is working in the house of the judge. Slowly, he enters their house and begins hatching his plot. Is he successful or not? or is there any other motive behind this? All this forms the rest of the story.

It is a rather understandable plot and the director has not worked hard on the script, he just presented it well. The narrative lacked the depth so it failed to connect strongly with the audience. The dialogues were okay, script was weak and the screenplay was with good pace. Background score was a letdown and was more of a hindrance at many places. Songs were alright but three songs were worth humming. Cinematography captured the angles very well and deserves appreciation. Editing was crisp, costumes department was effective, art was neat. Fights have been choreographed very well and they are worth mentioning. The other departments were alright.

Actually, the film would have been a lot more better if the makers didn't look at it commercially. The voltage was missing at key scenes and the climax was very bland. There are places where the Telugu audience cannot relate to the Tamil flavor but overall, the dubbing aspect has been neat. Suriya's 12 year old act was a major highlight. He has come up with an impressive performance once again, Nayantara has to do some serious homework on her look and appearance, she looks terrible and firstly, she must remove that nose stud. Where is the Nayan we saw in `Chandramukhi' `Lakshmi''Thulasi'?. Ramesh Kanna was standard, the real show stealer was Vadivelu with hilarious comedy, Anu Haasan was effective, Rahul Dev could have been used in a better way, Sayaji Shinde was grossly underutilized. B Saroja Devi was energetic and lively, the others contributed effectively to make their presence felt. There are few fundamental flaws the makers are making despite having some real good cast and what could have been, an interesting plot. There could have been enough twists and the story doesn't take off until the second half to be honest. Romance track was quite weak and the chemistry was missing. Climax was pathetic and it just reminds us of the 80s. Scenes like car hanging with heroine from top are of bygone era. However, the commercial and masala elements might appeal to the B and C center audience and the title gives a feel of a complete action treat, it is not so. This might be an average grosser but to make it to success mark, it would need more publicity and some positive word of mouth.

Overall, just an average masala treat with formula

Released on: 17th October, 2009