Film: Vaigai Express
Cast: RK,Neetu Chandra, Iniya, Dhanya, RK Selvamani, Siddique
Director: Shaji Kailas
The plot centers on a triple murder in a train, the victims all women and apparently unconnected. With a terrorist’s hand suspected in the murders, Rahman an offi cer of the special task force is brought in to investigate the case. The fi lm marks the third joint outing of Kailas- RK and their second remake, with RK essaying a cop yet again. While the fi rst remake was of a Suresh Gopi starrer and well adapted to the Tamil screen (as Ellam Avan Seyil, 2008), this one is also Suresh Gopi-hit Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri (2007). Inspired by Agatha Christie’s work Elephants can Remember, the fi lm had an intriguing screenplay with twists and turns and surprising revelations.
But this time one felt the director has managed to capture just the physicality of the script and not its essence. RK too who was effective playing his cope-role to the hilt in the earlier fi lm, is just a pale imitation here. A famous shooter Radhika (Neetu) is found brutally attacked and in a coma during her train journey in the Vaigai Express. Also found killed in the same compartment are two other women, a TV reporter and a popular dancer.
Puzzled by the killings, the investigating cop (RK) wonders if the three murders had a connective link or were just coincidental happenings. The suspects are many and as the investigation progresses, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and a story of jealousy and vendetta make their play. Neetu gets to essay a dual role — as sharp shooter Radhika, and classical dancer Jyothika. With subtle nuances, she has tried to differentiate between the two roles, coming out effective in the fi nale. The rest of the actors seem to have been picked up at random. The director, while faithfully following the earlier version in its structuring, has failed to capture the same feel and mood. This is one remake that hasn’t struck the right chord!