Deviating from his earlier controversial themes mainly related to forbidden sexual relationships, a chastened Samy goes for a safer terrain this time. His new film Kangaroo is about the strong bonding between a brother and a sister. But with Samy, it can never be the usual sibling bonding tale. The director has tried to give a fresh feel to the story by weaving in some suspense, thrill, action scenes and a couple of twists. And, this has worked to an extent.
The plot is set in a remote hamlet — a hilly terrain, an idyllic location. Murugesan, an orphan who had made his way there with his baby sister Azhagu (Priyanka) is taken care of by a kind-hearted Nadar (Ramiah), who runs a tea stall. The first half is compact and is neatly scripted and narrated. It depicts the bonding between the siblings and to what extent Murugesan can go to protect Azhagu. The director seems to be carrying the hangover of Mirugam in the early scenes. Murugesan’s wild, shabby look and demeanour and some of his acts seem like a throwback to the earlier film. Tall and rugged Arjunaa (his first lead role) plays the aggressive, possessive and boorish brother with aplomb. With his expressive eyes expressive, he comes out well in the fights scenes. Priyanka fits in suitably as the sister.
Taking on a bigwig (Mani) and giving him the beating of his life when he learns that he was harassing his sister (Priyanka), earns him yet another enemy.
The other being Sarasa, a hooker, who sees her dreams of getting her sister (Varsha) into the trade backfiring because of the latter’s love for Murugesan. Varsha has not much to do, if you don’t count her sizzling dream song thrust into the narration.
Ace singer Srinivas dons the cap of a music composer for the film. The songs are well integrated with the narration and the best pick of the lot is the tender and melodious Penjakka mazhai thuliyo.....
The narration soon steps into the thriller mode, when Azhagu’s suitors get killed one by one, and the police enter the picture. Samy does a neat portrayal as the investigating cop. But post-interval the pace slackens a tad. The narration picks up momentum again as the cops tighten their noose around the killer. With not many red herrings or suspects to distract the audience, it’s not difficult to guess the killer’s identity.
And then it’s about how the culprit circumvents the police cordon and tries to get to his next target.
Compact with just about 109 minutes of viewing time, the film with its different take on the brother-sister relationship, is a fairly watchable one.