CHENNAi : When we meet Rudhra (Mahendran) for the first time in Amigo Garage, he is a high-school student preparing for his exams. He sports an adult beard and has biceps that would rival that of a gym trainer. He barely looks the part and is unconvincing, but let’s just brush it under the carpet for a moment. Soon, in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene, Rudhra and his friends are celebrating graduation. Later, he instantly becomes the ‘good guy’ and is employed at a factory after listening to one piece of advice from his parents. Between these three crucial shifts, Rudhra strangely looks the same. The only change we see is one of attire — from uniform to T shirt in college and then formal wear. These flaws are just the tip of the iceberg.
Directed by Prasanth Nagarajan, Amigo Garage has Mahendran playing a man who becomes a gangster at the snap of a finger when he decides to kill a dreaded don. It is safe to say that Amigo Garage, it seems has taken some inspiration from A History of Violence in charting Rudhra’s rise as a gangster. The garage where it all starts has Anand (GM Sundar) and his henchmen being involved in petty crimes. They take Rudhra under their wing and provide him the care and comfort he needs. Except for Mahendran, none of the leads are lively enough. The jokes don’t land either. Despite Mahendran’s earnest performance, Rudhra’s story never gets compelling enough. To make up for the jumpy screenplay, we get several long voiceovers from Rudhra before any major development happens.
When Rudhra begins to go astray, his mother is worried, but his father advices her not to worry and suggests that the solution could be marriage. When that doesn’t happen over time, his father throws a fit, breaks their family photo frame, and says, “Enna pulla valathurukka nee?” (What son have you brought up?). Why blame the woman? We are never sure.
After an inciting incident that leaves Rudhra’s life changed forever, he tries to avoid conflict and stays underground, but in one smoke, he gathers the courage to kill. He makes his new gang and begins slashing the necks of his enemies left, right and centre to rise in ranks to become the new head of Amigo Garage. He makes a comment or two about his earlier life, and his friends, but we feel nothing when they die. The women of the film – be it Ramya (Deepa Balu), who calls Rudhra ‘thambi’ in one scene and disappears, and Tamil (Athira) who is his angel descended from heaven – are facile and painted in broad strokes. The villains are nothing more than stock characters who are only there to oppose Rudhra.
Amigo Garage has sparks of potential, but somewhere in this story of a man who turns into a gangster, it gets derailed and doesn’t create an impact with the audience. With all the voiceovers, you mostly don’t need to look at the screen to know what is going on.
Film: Amigo Garage
Director: Prasanth Nagarajan
Cast: Mahendran, GM Sundar, Athira Raj, Deepa Balu, Dasarathi Narasimman, Madhanagopal, Murali Chandran, Sakthi Gopal, Muralikamal and Siriko Udhaya
Rating: 2/5