After the super hit ‘Jigarthanda’ a slew of films released with Bobby Simha playing the lead role but the national award winner has been looking for the next break in career. Here comes ‘Ko 2’ which is his first political thriller. The title has been borrowed from the 2011 blockbuster which also falls under the same genre.  Let’s see how the ‘Ko 2’ has to offer and whether it lives up to the expectations over the ‘Ko’ tag.

Kumaran (Bobby Simha) kidnaps the Chief Minister of the State (Prakash Raj) when he makes an unscheduled visit for the inauguration of an old age home. The kidnapper starts communicating with the police and puts forth his demands. What are his demands? What is the reason behind the kidnap? Who is Kumaran? Know the answer for these questions by watching the film in theatres.

Selecting a film dealing with politics has an inherent advantage. You can touch upon various issues that affect the people and this will ensure that the audiences connect with the film easily. But if this is not done properly the entire attempt will be let down. Debutant director Sharath with the help of fiery dialogues written by Bakkiyam Shankar and Raja Ram has succeeded in this important aspect.

All the political and public issues handled in the film have a contemporary relevance. Liquor menace, farmers’ suicide, sand mafia, corporate getting huge tax benefits- everything discussed in the film are something that the society is facing every day. Politicians changing the election results with their money power, Public unrest and anti-social elements creating huge problems to the public when a Chief Minister is not on duty- instances like these are also something that people of Tamil Nadu have come across in the recent past.

Though the film involves the kidnapping of a CM, the director makes a safe and smart move by putting a disclaimer in the beginning, which says that the film does not encourage kidnapping elected representatives. As said in the disclaimer, this is also not the plot of the film. The protagonist does that highly risky and unethical act only to unveil some bigger tragedy.

The story behind the kidnap incident is revealed in the later part of the second half and that has been portrayed convincingly and also justified as far as the film is concerned.

There are many claps worthy moments throughout the film. Watch out for the telephonic conversations scenes between the police officer (John Vijay) and the kidnapper and also the conversation between the Home Minister (Ilavarasu) and the hero is really a scream. Sharath’s smartness is evident even in the minor instances like these:  a media person deliberately avoiding a scoop as broadcasting that would only help to worsen the situation, a Police officer taking an important lead of the investigation from an intelligent question raised by a journalist.

The film’s running time is around 130 minutes and you never feel that the film drags anywhere. Especially the second half moves so fast and you keep expecting what is next.

On the flipside the romantic episode that takes a bigger chunk of the first half is uninspiring and the way they are filmed looks highly below par. But this is not a dampener as an interesting revelation about this episodes will make you forget the disappointment those scenes would have caused to you. But still these It is clearly evident that these scenes that are happening in a public place according to the story has been actually shot within a studio and that could have been avoided.  There are a few other mistakes which could have been avoided if the director and his team had paid a little more attention. Spelling mistakes are evident in the texts that come as part of the film. Some candid shots are visibly low in quality.

Also the writer-director has resorted to cinematic liberties in certain instances but these are contained within the bearable limits. Still the NSG Commando operation episode could have been handled in a better manner though.

Bobby Simha perfectly fits in to the role of a angry young man who cares for the society and does a brave act risking his life. His expressions and histrionics are apt in the scenes where he utters dialogues about serious public issues. But his Tamil accent is something he has to concentrate and correct and it would be better if he takes some conscious steps to avoid imitating the mannerisms and bodily gestures of his role model Superstar Rajinikanth.

It is refreshing to see Prakash Raj in a dignified Chief Minister’s role. His character is limited to four walls and a seat for the most part except the final scene. The veteran scores brownie points with his apt expressions and dialog delivery. Ilavarasu has done a brilliant performance as the Home Minister.  John Vijay after a long time has been given a role that justifies his acting capabilities and he has given one of his career best performances as a level headed and smart commissioner who takes charge of the kidnap situation.

Nikki Galrani as the journalist heroine has something more than that of a hero’s arm candy. Bala Saravanan has got a meatier role and he proves he is an actor and not just a comedian. Nasser and Karunakaran are impressive with their respective cameos.

Songs by Leon James are sweet to listen but their placement especially in the first half is little dampening.  The youngster has done a wonderful job in re-recording. Cinematography by Philip R.Sundar and Venkat M and the Editing by Kevin are adequate. Art Direction could have been definitely better.

Verdict:  You could not have asked for a better film during the elections season and the film is highly entertaining which will make you like it even if you are not interested at all in politics.

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