In his debut directorial venture, Manukannan takes a relevant issue as the focal point to weave his screenplay around - the RTI Act (Right To Information), that empowers citizens to find out what happens in the government and bring about a change in the social and political fabric of our society. A well intentioned effort no doubt. But the seriousness of the issue gets diluted, what with the narration being jumpy and inconsistent, and the screenplay layered with romance, songs and sentiment. Angusam opens with a glimpse of our ancient civilisation, our culture and tradition. It is then contrasted with the current state of affairs that suffers from corruption in high places, apathy and insensitivity of government servants, poverty, child labour and over population.
However, after such a sincere and earnest opening, the screenplay meanders into the typical cliched romance, fights and villains. It’s only post interval that the issue of RTI is taken up. Shiva (Skanda), son of a retired school master (Vagai Chandrasekhar seen after a long time), learns about the RTI Act and decides to become a responsible citizen. He sets out to expose a corrupt MLA (Dandapani) and his nexus with the cops. The MLA’s goons try to assault Shiva, ignorant of the fact that he had time and again bashed up a dozen armed goons single-handedly. The volte face of Anthony, a dreaded thug (Karate Raja) who is impressed by Shiva’s forthright nature, turns a friend, is not very convincing. Thwarted at every point, it’s not an easy task for Shiva. Skanda as Shiva is adequate in his role.
The mobilising of a people’s movement and bringing in the media comes a tad too late in the narration. These elements could have been integrated in a more convincing way. Angusam had promise. If only the screenplay had been more focused.