It’s a story of decades-old feud running between families, their progenies carrying on the vendetta to the present. But the difference here is that the plot is set against a sport-backdrop, the two families bitter rivals in boxing. The debutant director has concentrated more on content than style. Every element in this film is over the top, whether it’s the situations, the dialogue, the fights, the performances or the emotions displayed. Subtlety has no place here. But what the director has managed to do is maintain consistency in the feel and mood, move his narration at a steady pace and with rarely any boring moments.
After the whole background to the rivalry is explained in the opening scene, we see Bhooloham and Arumugam the scions of the warring families gearing up for a boxing fight. It spills to the streets where the duo and their men take on each other. For Jayam Ravi riding high on the success of ‘Thani Oruvan’, it’s a role totally contrasting to the suave urban character of his earlier film. Bhooloham is a complete ‘local’. He is hot blooded, loud and a showoff, very earthy in his body language and mannerisms. And Ravi plays it to the hilt and with great relish. The boxing tournament between the duo ends with disastrous consequences, leading Bhooloham to hang up his boots. But circumstance would bring him back into the arena, this time for a larger cause.
The director now moves off to more important matters than the local rivalry. Enters Shah (Prakashraj), who runs a sports channel. The director here takes a light dig at TV channels, their business tactics and their ‘commercial breaks’.
Unscrupulous in the promotion of his channel, Shah orchestrates situations and fights to increase viewership. The whole Shah scenario brings to mind ‘The condemned’. When a staff questions him on whether a local boxing tournament would interest a global audience, Shah replies ‘The more local, the more global’(!). The scene where Bhooloham is chased by goons and tricked into a boxing fight with the national champ Dayal (Arpith), is impressively choreographed.
The director soon sidelines this potential villain too, to go for a bigger name. Enters into the picture George, the International boxing champ (Nathan Jones of ‘Mad Max’ fame), brought in by Shah. One would have thought George’s gigantic frame and ‘psycho’ reputation would strike terror in our local fighters. Particularly, with Shah advising him to ‘pounce and devour’ his opponent.
But George cuts a pathetic figure and makes up for the comic track that is missing in the film. Turned into a caricature he grunts and growls and goes over the top with his act, falling in line with the feel and mood of the film. Comic situations are weaved in at his expense. Like the one where he is made to run around in a female garb.
The Shah-Bhooloham verbal sparring has some sparkling and relevant lines. But the final face-off turns farcical with a predictable ending.
The narrative style caters to the mass. There is a song for every occasion. Even a death and a funeral has a whole song to finish its course.
Taking about 142 minutes of viewing time, the narration could have been crisper. Jayam Ravi is the life of the film, never making a wrong move. And despite the glitches, the film is watchable due to his arresting screen presence and his take on his character.