Saani Kaayidham: Kollywood's wanna-be 'Kill Bill' film, which lacks depth in writing..

'Saani Kaayidham' is the second film of the promising talent Arun Matheshwaran, who made an impressive debut with 'Rocky' starring Vasanth Ravi and Bharathiraja. The National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh and ace director Selvaragahvan have come on board for 'Saani Kaayidham' and fans are thrilled about this project ever since. The movie was released on Amazon Prime Video today.

The story of 'Saani Kaayidham' is too simple and straightforward. As per the synopsis, the plot follows the lives of Ponni (Keerthy Suresh), working as a constable, living with her five-year-old daughter Dhanam and her husband Mari. Mari's involvement in the local politics rises his tension with his higher cast employers, who rape his wife Ponni and brutally murder him and their daughter by burning them alive in their hut house. A devastated Ponni and her stepbrother Sangaiya (Selvaraghavan) were denied justice by the law. Driven by rage, the two set out to take revenge on the people that wronged them.

Keerthy Suresh, as a performer, has always been underrated in our film industry even after she delivered the National Award-winning performance in 'Nadigayar Thilagam'. 'Saani Kaayidham' is a perfect treat to her talent to express her impeccable acting skills. Selvaragahavan recently made his acting debut in Thalapathy Vijay's 'Beast' with a forgettable character but Arun Matheshwaran has given him a character to cherish for a lifetime. Selva as Sangaiya has showcased both innocence and brutality of the role in a well-matured manner. The villains were good but they had very limited screen space.

Arun Matheshwaran has a good eye for making neo-noir style films, which is not much famous in Kollywood. Also, he has a knack for building up his world with sensitive premises like the Srilankan issue in 'Rocky' and the caste oppression issue in 'Saani Kaayidham'. Meanwhile, the problem with 'Saani Kaayidham' is that it lacks depth in writing. With a simple and straightforward story, the screenplay also falls flat and becomes monotonous. The scenes weren't intimidating as they were meant to be due to predictability.

Coming to the technical aspects, Arun Matheshwaran is surely a good craftsman. Sam CS' music becomes the soul of 'Saani Kaayidham' with an immense musical score. Yamini Yagnamurthy's camera work and Nagooran's editing adds more strength to the film while Dhilip Subbarayan's action episodes have been ultimately gruesome. The crew has presented us with 'Saani Kaayidham' in a Quentin Tarantino-esque style.

'Saani Kaayidham' is a rustic, brutal and gut-wrenching revenge drama that lacks depth in writing but the performances and craftwork make it a watchable fare. It will work well with the 'neo-noir' genre lovers.