What jealousy can do to a genius...’ goes a line in the narration to the background of the rivalry between two musical geniuses. S J Suryah after a fairly long hiatus returns as actor-writer-director and debuts as a music composer here. He weaves his plot round the rivalry and begins it well. But as the narration progresses, the screenplay takes a downslide never to recover.
Suryah’s character Shiva makes a grand entry like a rockstar, performing on stage. Suryah’s new look and attitude flatters him. But the old Suryah (of his earlier films) would soon take over and spoil the whole show. It’s a promising entry for Vetriselvan too (Sathyaraj), the once reigning music composer of films getting mobbed by fans at a film event, only to see them all desert him, once Shiva the reigning composer and his one-time assistant, makes his entry.
An interesting premise to build a plot on. But Suryah lets go of the opportunity. There is inconsistency both in the scripting and narration. The director doesn’t allow any emotion to be sustained for long and brings in humour at all the wrong places, some intentional, most unintentional. There is this episode at a hill station where Shiva working on his private album falls in love. The idyllic location and Shiva being captivated with an ethereal figure (debutante Savithri, a promising find) dancing in gay abandon, has a lyrical feel. The romance begins well, but as it progresses, eroticism turns slightly off-colour, reminding one of scenes from some of the director’s earlier films. In fact the whole love-episode begs to be re-written and re-enacted!
For a film titled Isai and revolving around the music world, the music is uninspiring here. We are supposed to feel empathetic with Shiva’s pathetic plight as Vetriselvan’s scheming turns him into a mental wreck, but we don’t. For one, Vetriselvan’s moves lack conviction and are far-fetched, with logistical contradictions and loopholes. But it’s to Sathyaraj’s credit that despite his weakly fleshed out role, he’s eminently watchable as the egoistic, jealous Vetriselvan. And the best parts of the film are the moments between him and Ganja Karupu who plays his servant. The banter between them, where Vetriselvan confuses the simple servant and draws him into a verbal-trap is hilarious. Both actors are splendid here. The scenes towards the end take a thriller mode, and one could almost see another revelation coming.
A coherent sensible script and a tighter, focused narration would have helped. The director forces in one twist after another, in case the earlier one hadn’t worked! But the worst is the final turn, which seemed more like an escapist move. The director’s ploy to cover up all the inadequacies and loopholes in the scripting. The final con-act after taking the viewers for a more than three-hour-long tedious ride!