Set in North Chennai, the film is about Attu (Rishi Rithvik) and his four friends who have taken to a life of crime. As the old adage goes, a man who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
This is reinforced through this tale of friendship. The debutant director has treated the gang wars of North Chennai in realistic fashion. That the actors are all fresh faces lends the film with a lot of authenticity. Rithvik, especially, impresses with his body language and expressions.
What if these five orphans, friends from childhood, are used by a bigwig to do his dirty work? That’s the core concept of the film. Some of the locations used are particularly impressive, including the open dumpyard that is shown to be their home.
Yogi Babu, playing one of the five friends, lightens up proceedings with his brand of comedy. There’s also the mandatory love angle that shows a girl, Sundari, pursuing the protagonist unabashedly.
It isn’t every day that we see a bold feisty girl in our films. Archana, with expressive eyes, fits the bill perfectly.
While the pre-interval portions are exciting, the story soon runs out of steam, as the pace slackens.
The songs, especially, act as speedbreakers. Also, while in a film about gang wars, it’s natural to have murders and shoot-outs.
A few of the sequences seem rather forced, like the episode involving Sundari and her father. All said, Attu delivers far more than you’d have expected from a debutant filmmaker making a fairly anonymous film.
Film: Attu
Cast: Rishi Rithvik, Archana Ravi, Yogi Babu, Dheena, Prabha.
Director: Rathan Linga