We often fret over life’s challenges. However, what if those worries pale in comparison to a sudden upheaval, like a war that decimates our country? This is the crux of Kadaisi Ulaga Por. With a lot of satire true to Adhi’s style and a well-thought storyline, the film has no dull moments. While it offers a thought-provoking narrative and Adhi’s signature humour, its ambitious scope occasionally leads to jarring tonal shifts and uneven character development.
With this film, Adhi has tried his hand at subtle heroism. Neither does he orate lengthy philosophical dialogues, nor does he walk with the attitude of a hero. However, the writing fails his character because there is not much backstory to who he is. The only reasoning we get is that he was an orphan who grew up in a home and later in the wild, thereby making him independent from day one. This doesn’t really help us suspend our disbelief when a military major, two political leaders, a kingmaker, and policemen choose to let go of all their ideas and follow Thamizh’s orders. On the contrary, Hiphop Adhi has taken a lot of time to pen Natty’s character.
As someone who has no conscience, Natty’s Kingmaker Nataraj steals the show with well-written dialogues, a tinge of satire, and a brilliant performance. However, even for his character, there is a very abrupt and almost overtly predictable transformation, that cuts down on the fun that his diabolical energy initially brought to the film. Even as a plot convenience, this tonal shift is jarring.
Apart from these issues, the film still manages to entertain us. As opposed to contrived mass moments, Adhi has tried to work out some organic commercial elements in the film. A lot of the film’s bombastic moments are heavily reliant upon VFX and production design, which the makers have executed brilliantly.
Similarly, the background score plays a heavy role in ensuring the film’s overall entertainment. Even in portions where the screenplay takes a dip, the score keeps us alive and entertained. Replete with many interesting ideas, Kadaisi Ulaga Por still suffers from inconsistent execution.
The entire first half carefully and slowly builds the world of local Tamil Nadu politics from Natty’s perspective. The entire second half ends up becoming another film altogether, with the microscopic view shifting to an eagle’s eye view about survival. With several political ideas like communism, how a king/politician is made, lobbyism, nuclear power, and more, the film feels overwhelming. At a point, the political commentary goes over your head because of how fast-paced the information is being conveyed.
At the end of the day, the film constantly manages to make you laugh and keep you entertained. Initially, you would expect the film to offer a heavy dose of political sermons with a side of science fiction. While it did offer these things, the action and thriller portions turned out to be the most entertaining. It reminds you of Natty’s dialogue, “Makkal ku enna theva mu makkal ke theriyadhu.” This film gives us the entertainment we need, even if not in the way we want it.