Kuruthi Aattam - An  unaffecting, overly long gangster drama

Director Sri Ganesh whose debut movie '8 Thottakkal' received critical acclaim, it has been a long wait for his sophomore project 'Kuruthi Aattam' to hit the screens.  Whether the film does justice to the director's reputation remains to be seen.

Shakthi (Atharvaa Murali) is a compounder in the local hospital who is also a passionate Kabaddi player who has never lost a match.  Muthu (Kanna Ravi) is the son of the local gangster Gandhimathi (Radhika Sarathkumar) who rivals Shakthi in the ground but never uses his background in the game.  On the other hand Arivu (Prakash Raghavan) a close aide of Muthu develops a hatred for Shakthi and is always looking for an opportunity to get the better of him.  Meanwhile Shakthi falls for the local school teacher Nila (Priya Bhavani Shankar) and also becomes an icon for a little girl admitted in the hospital who is a daughter of a jail bird.  On one occasion Arivu beats up Shakthi's friend which causes him to retaliate and all hell breaks loose and a gang war is started.  Shakthi and those close to him have to suffer hell before he brings it all to an end.

Atharvaa is in full form in this film as the sportsman with a golden heart who later turns into a fighting machine.  He is in his elements in the romance scenes with PBS and emotional ones with the little girl and his own sister.  However it is the action scenes which are a plenty he scores big.  Priya Bhavani Shankar has done a near job as the school teacher who reluctantly sways towards the hero. For no fault of hers the weak writing and the serial style makeup does not allow Radhika Sarathkumar to score as the dreaded gangster Akka. It is her brother Radha Ravi who is a scream in a couple of scenes especially the manner in which he deals with his wimpy son.  The film brings out fine performances from a few young actors such as Vatsan Chakravarthy as the ruthless assassin, Kanna Ravi as the good hearted son of Radhika, Prakash Raghavan as the wimpy Arivu and Ratsasan fame Vinod Sagar as the criminal caught between his shady life and the love for his wife and daughter.

What works in 'Kuruthi Aattam' are the initial scenes that set up each character, especially the sequence in jail where Vatsan Chakravarthy begins his bloody trail.  Among the countless action scenes, the one where Vatsan draws Atharvaa amidst muslims slashing and whipping themselves with sharp objects is effective.  One of the better scenes is when Priya Bhavani Shankar's father comes to her rescue and thereby makes her understand Atharvaa's plight. The subplot involving the little girl and her criminal father would have been much better if the dialogues and activities were more natural.  

On the downside right from the acting, the writing and the execution nothing is organic especially the little girl's scenes and her dialogues.  Logical loopholes abound and the screenplay after the first half hour or so goes wayward.  The visuals assault the senses with repetitiveness be it the characters going in and out of the hospital or the dozens of plans the gangsters make to wipe out the hero which he escapes without any fuss each time.  The lack of comedy is compensated for in the mindless climax portions that go on and on and on but by then one's mind is numbed even to allow a smile.

The "Ranga Rattinam" song in Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is already a hit and he has done his bit in the background score.  Nothing to complain about any of the technical work on display.  Rock Fort Muruganandam has bankrolled the film.  Writer-director Sri Ganesh by the standards he has set with his debut movie has delivered a subpar product.  But his potential is such that one can bet on him making a strong comeback.

Verdict : Go for it if you fancy gangster flicks loaded with over the top action.