Kanithan A Racy Entertainer

For his debut venture, director Santosh has chosen an issue that continues to make headlines.
Image for representation purposes only.
Image for representation purposes only.

Film - Kanithan

Director- T N Santosh

Cast- Atharvaa, Catherine Tresa, Tarun Arora, Karunakaran, Bhagyaraj, Narein.

For his debut venture, director Santosh has chosen an issue that continues to make headlines. The fake certificate scam with its widespread network has spawned a vast number of fake-workers in every profession. The director seems to have done his homework, the script fairly well researched. The narration moves at breakneck speed. And it is this momentum and Atharvaa’s screen presence that keeps it going.

ForAtharvaa, it is yet another role well enacted. The actor plays Gautam, a senior reporter on a TV channel that is trying to raise its TRP. Gautam’s ambition was to work for a prestigious English channel. His dream is almost realised, when an unexpected incident threatens to destroy it. The early moments are light-hearted. Like the antics of Gautam and Senthil, his ‘out of focus’ cameraman ( Sundar Ramu); and the love angle with the channel owner’s feisty daughter (Tresa). Tresa gets a glamorous makeover and is mainly used for oomph factor.

Gautam’s life takes a turn when he and a few other guys are hauled up by the cops, for forging certificates for an education loan. The narration takes an investigative turn as Gautam links the common factor and tries to get to the root of the matter. As the scamster Sarkar, Tarun Arora ( of Hindi films like Jab We Met) is urbane, cool and menacing.

On the positive side, the film sustains its racy momentum and has some exciting action scenes. On the flip side, there are logical flaws and moments that lack conviction. The Channel’s premises is brazenly attacked twice by goons and the villain, the reporters intimidated and brutally bashed up. But the bonhomie among the channels, when a scoop was handed over to them by Gautam to be simultaneously aired, seems to have been forgotten. For neither any channel seemed to report the assault, nor express any solidarity. There is no police investigation either. It’s surprising that Gautam being the chief reporter and anchor of a TV channel is not recognised by the people he approaches assuming a fake identity.

The motivating ‘Cheguevara....’ high-on-octave song number (composer Sivamani) is well placed in the narration. The screenplay taut and sensible in the early part meanders in the second half with many flippant episodes and situations. But despite its glitches, Kanithan is a racy entertainer and one of the better scripts to come out in recent times.

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