Isai

 

He was a supporting artiste who later became a director, a writer, a producer and in this latest creation he has taken the avatar of a music director too. Known for giving one of the best films for both Vijay and Ajith, S.J.Surya’s last Tamil film as a director was Anbe Aaruyire back in 2005. After some not-worth-remembering films such as Kalvanin Kadhali, Thirumagan, Vyabari etc, Surya self imposed a hiatus for almost a decade. Finally, Isai, a film that he had planned long time back got to see the daylight.

Apart from S.J.Surya, Isai stars Sathyaraj, Sulagna, Ganja Karuppu, Thambi Ramaiah and SS music fame Gibran. Surya plays the role of Shiva, the most sought after Music director in the field who was once an assistant to Vetriselvan, played by Sathyaraj, who had his days at the pinnacle but now at the depths thanks to Shiva’s success. What ego does to a man who couldn’t digest the success of someone who was beneath him once but has outgrown him exponentially forms the crux of Isai.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Sathyarai has been getting the best roles of his lifetime post his hero days. Isai gives him a platform to showcase his stellar and mature skills that he has honed over the years. The way he portrays the ruthless villainous schemes with a touch of humour sense definitely thrills and entertains. Surya on the other hand needs no introduction when it comes to acting. Most of the directors are really good actors as they know what’s needed for the role. Surya storms through the film with the right amount of emotions and action without crossing the border of over acting. Sulagna is given a significant role that travels throughout the film. Though she has a high share of screen space her acting skills aren’t given much scope and is mostly limited for glamour sequences.

Surya must be commended for his job as a musician. The BGM scores are good and while some songs are great, the rest are hummable. Art director Milan’s creations at the hill scenes are magnificent. Cinematography and Dialogues are some departments where they could’ve worked more on.

On the negative end, the film’s total run time is 3hrs and 10 mins. A lot of sequences such as the cliche love sequences and the ‘atho vanile’ song could have been shortened to make the film even more racier. Something that needs a special mention is Surya’s guts on how he ended the film. The film might move in a predictable manner but distinct climax sequence along with some minor twists in between is surely the sign of director’s intelligence and his confidence over it. While the double meaning innuendos that are synonymous with S.J.Surya’s films are considerably less, he has upped the heat with glamour quotient. It’s still a surprise on how this film managed a U/A certificate. Overall, Isai is a glorious comeback film for Surya and it’s sure to entertain the youths.

ISAI :- Nijam aana sangeetha kanavu !!!