Sathya - Unpredictable Screenplay is the highpoint

Sibiraj after a decent outing as an actor in 'Kattapava Kaanom' is back with 'Sathya' directed by Pradeep Krishnamoorthy which is the remake of the Telugu sleeper hit 'Kshanam'. Whether the fairly well made new age thriller find favor with the Tamil audiences remains to be seen.

The film opens with Sathya (Sibiraj) an IT employee in Australia whose friend Yogi Babu is trying to set him up with a prospective date but fails as he is haunted by a past. A phone call from an ex-girl friend Shwetha (Remya Nambesan) brings Sathya to India where he finds her emotionally distraught claiming that her daughter was kidnapped a couple of months back and begging him to trace her. Alternating between their love story and Sathya's attempts to help Shwetha his task seems impossible as all the people around her including the police claim that she never had a child. Is Shwetha mentally imbalanced after being hurt in a robbery or is there truth in her claims is the question that pushes Sathya and the audience through many a twist and turn until the story reaches an emotional climax.

One could say that 'Sathya' is Sibiraj's best performance till date as he is near flawless as the guy who harbors feelings for his ex-girl and tries his best to help her out. Being tall and lanky helps him score big In the action sequences and he is also very sportive in participating in the self deprecating joke dished out by Yogi Babu that the whole world knows that he cannot act. But credit to him that he holds his own against all the other players in the film. Remya Nambesan is perfect as the distraught mother of a small girl and she is excellent when expressing defeat every time other dont believe her. She also manages to carry off a younger version of herself in the flashback through a rather unconvincing romance episode. Varalakshmi Sarathkumar as the Assistant Commissioner has once again proved her mettle in successfully carrying a multi shaded role quite convincingly though the writing of her role isnt. Veteran Anandaraj as Varu's junior shines throughout while Sathish's turn in a serious role for the first time works rather well compared to his recent comedic efforts. Yogi Babu vanishes in Australia before he could make a mark while the rest of the cast including the actors who play Remya's husband, his brother, Vinodhini and Venkat Sundaram are noticeable.

What works best in 'Sathya' is the roller coaster screenplay which does not allow any guesses but sucks the audience into the confused state the hero is in. Apart from the flashback romance no time is wasted on trivialities and the story telling is focused with a some sort of action happening all the time. The shot in which Sibiraj understands the truth about Remya's claims and the climax reveal are emotionally gratifying.

What pulls the film down is that its setting and its people are very alien to the Tamil audience and the director should have worked on this while adapting the screenplay. Another major disadvantage is that the characters are all surface level with no time for the audience to invest in them and the result is most of their emotions stay on the screen. Since the police and their behavior is more out of a Hollywood film than Indian, Varu's powerful character loses much of its sheen for lack of nativity. The very story itself is far fetched and though the climax justifies everything , as said earlier the alienating effect is present throughout.

Simon K King's background score compliments the story telling, while Arunmani Palani has shot the film with a consistent rough look that also does the same. Gautham Ravichandran's uses a lot of back and forth cuts to good effect and all the other technicalities are sound. Sathyaraj's Nathambal Films should be praised for trying something new. Pradeep Krishnamoorthy of 'Saithaan' fame has extracted solid performances from his cast and technical crew but could have worked harder on the adaptation to better results.

Verdict : Go for it for solid acting from the cast and an unpredictable screenplay replete with twists and turns.