Skip to main content

Sathriyan

Vikram Prabhu’s films, regardless of how good or bad they are, always seem to have attractive titles. When Mudi Sooda Mannan was renamed Sathriyan, the expectation meter rose. In the opening sequence, we aren’t shown a typical do-gooder hero, and definitely not one who’s invincible. When it is shown that he fails to keep his boss safe from harm, I expected a different film in the much-abused gangster genre.

The interest, however, ended right there for me, as it goes on to offer barely anything new. Our cinema isn’t new to rival gangs fighting a cat-and-mouse game in order to gain control of a city. It definitely isn’t new to the story of a thug who tries for redemption. Vikram Prabhu has gotten better with each film, but still seems to be quite uncomfortable with close-ups and in dance sequences. Manjima Mohan does well in the role of a college student. Given the theme, it was a pleasant surprise to see her get as much screen space.

Sathriyan’s biggest weakness is its lack of a strong antagonist–crucial in a film like this. Even the characters played by small-screen actors Kavin and Aishwarya Dutta aren’t well-etched. Yogi Babu, who appears in barely two scenes, fails to evoke laughter. The songs only act as a hindrance and are part of the film only for commercial purposes. The background score is an exception and a definite positive, as is Sivakumar Vijayan’s cinematography. The stunt sequences (by Anbariv), a vital part of the film, look neither convincing nor entertaining.

Director SR Prabhakaran, who made a decent debut in Sundarapandian, and followed it up with the underwhelming Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal, has apparently tried to play it safe with Sathriyan. Despite some decent work in the early portions of the film, it all gets undone soon. The sub-plots are one too many, too. Ultimately, Sathriyan becomes an example of why some titles of classics are best left not reused.

Rating: 2/5

Disclaimer: An edited version of this post can be found here. This post was written for The New Indian Express.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi shoulder a mediocre film: Master Review

A flawed protagonist and a powerful antagonist have always proven to be successful tropes in the world of cinema. The hero, when being anything but perfect, makes way for a beautiful story arc as he convalesces and a strong villain makes the hero’s triumph at the end larger. Despite having both of these, Vijay’s Master feels far from a perfect flick thanks to succumbing to irregular pacing and a middling screenplay. Master follows the trials and tribulations of JD (Vijay), an alcoholic college professor whose valiant effort towards the student community plants a belief in his colleague Charu (Malavika Mohanan) that he would be able to do the same to the kids in a juvenile correction centre that needs… correction. Armed with a just kada, a classic four-wheeler, a Persian cat and a cool pair of sunglasses, JD embarks on a journey that will collide with that of Bhavani’s (Vijay Sethupathi). On paper, Master looks like a failproof star vehicle – the story of a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Munna Bhai Dhaba, Sullurpet, Andhra Pradesh

  This time, we rode almost 100 kms to discover this hidden gem. Located at the ever busy NH16, Munna Bhai Dhaba is one of those places that dishes out some delicious food for you to cherish en route to your destination. Just that, this time it was our destination. After starting at 8:30PM from Chennai, we reached here around 10ish and by that time some items were unfortunately sold out. Out of 10, 6 of us were hardcore carnivores while the rest of them were Eggetarians. We opted for a couple of Chicken dishes which included Munna Bhai special chicken (a yummy starter with sauteed chicken and cashews) and a couple more Chicken dishes which are named after the states of our country. One such dish was the which had an egg base with piping hot Chicken curry on top which was the star of our dinner. A surprise show-stealer was the Onion Pakoda which looked bleh but tasted great. Rotis were so warm and fluffy that we finished 40 of them in no time. Egg Bhurji was apparently good too. Obv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sowcarpet Food Walk

The primitive man wandered through forests in search of food to satiate his cravings and I suppose it’s the same primal instinct that makes the modern man wander through concrete forests searching for delicious quick bites in order to satisfy his hankering. This is the essence of a food walk and as far as Chennai is concerned, Sowcarpet is the Mecca for food walks. Sowcarpet is the most tried and tested place for these walks and thanks to a number of foodies who are seniors and predecessors in this topic, we were able to plan our trip perfectly and we executed it flawlessly.   The options of commuting: 1. Parking is a huge issue during weekdays but not a problem on a Sunday morning in the Sowcarpet area. You can drive your cars through those narrow streets and you would be able to find a sidestreet where you could park. Alternatively you could park near the Flower Bazaar police station and walk down too. Just be aware of the one way roads in the area. Mint Street is one way s...
Post a Comment
Read more