Ashwath Marimuthu’s Dragon sits on the fence in terms of its themes, and it lets the characters who are involved in their own battles fight it out in a system that benefits the smartest. When D Ragavan, an outstanding student in school, stands outside the traditional moral values in college, and is branded as a ‘bad boy’, it is too hard to like him.
The director is not interested in making him likeable either, but he crafts an immensely enjoyable and relatable coming-of-age story of an extremely flawed individual who suffers with the repercussions of his shortcuts as he attempts to turn the tides to chart a triumphant story.
In many ways, Dragon is a reformed version of Uthaman Pradeep from Pradeep Ranganathan’s own Love Today. He makes mistakes, understands them and chooses to make amends. He shows maturity as he grows professionally, takes the path of righteousness and exhibits honesty that he hasn’t shown all these years.
If SJ Suryah’s Bhoominathan in Sivakarthikeyan’s Don made students shiver with fear, Mysskin’s Mayilvahanan seems like Bhoominathan’s evil, long-lost twin brother. Mayilvahanan carries the film on his heart. It would have been an easy choice to write Mayilvahanan as a villain whose name would terrorise students, but Ashwath chooses not to.
Dragon subverts many of these tropes to present an extremely convincing story that youth can relate to. For instance, the introduction of a second female character in the second half would ideally, in many films, yield a love triangle. Dragon barely teases you with such a prospect.
This doesn’t mean Ashwath never indulges in cinematic highs. A scene that should be registered in the books of ‘mass’ moments in cinema, Dragon’s so-called ardent junior follower, named ‘Kutty’ Dragon (Harshath Khan), is asked to narrate an algorithm for him to study while he bashes up some goons.
Another classic trick is to make a cigarette stub create an inciting incident that would go on to change the entire course of his life. An interesting cameo with a Midas touch reminds you of Oh My Kadavule and makes you question the magic of its timing. But these don’t overshadow the film or make it larger than life than necessary, making you suspend disbelief about his motives.
It is rooted in realism and provides a peek into the oft-forgotten ugly world of ‘pokkiris’ and ‘dons’ who walk around the campus with dishevelled hair and swirl ID cards around their fingers. The film is aware of Dragon’s life and its treatment and acts in its favour by giving callbacks that are laugh-riot.
One of the major considerations in Dragon is whether it glorifies Raghavan’s idea of morality and ethics. The film treads dangerously close to glorification, but it changes course and chooses to emphasise the importance of education and its ripples across life.
There are a few questionable choices, though, like Raghavan transforming from what the internet calls a ‘walking red flag’ to becoming a ‘green forest’ in one song to the point where he ticks all the checkboxes of being a gentleman. A proof of loyalty for Pallavi (Kayadu Lohar) is Dragon admitting that he is an RCB fan. When Keerthi (Anupama) has a heated conversation with Dragon, the verbal abuses go a bit far with Dragon choking her. During a later part of the film, he goes on to almost hit her when Anupama merely asks him to converse with her.
They don’t sit well with the film’s tonality even when it depicts Dragon as a complete mess in both moments. Kayadu Lohar is charming as Pallavi, but little is known about her life and character.
The same goes for Anupama Parameswaran’s Keerthi. As Dragon’s father Dhanapal, George Maryan stands out with his earnest performance in emotionally weighted scenes, but it might be too saccharine. If you are a fan of Surya Vamsam, there are several ‘Natchathira Jannalil’ moments where Dragon is working towards building a life of his dreams, but the film merely touches upon his darker moments of vulnerability and lowest of low moments. But they are enough to portray the graph that he goes through within a few years.
By this time, Pradeep Ranganathan has established himself as an icon to the youth by playing roles that strike a chord for those who are impacted by social media, the pressures of keeping up with peers and the yearning to be ‘seen’. Dragon might have changed into D Ragavan in his exams to win laurels. But even with passing grades, Ashwath and Pradeep have managed to pull off a story that’s worth discussing as an example in classrooms for several years.
Dragon
Director: Ashwath Marimuthu
Cast: Pradeep Ranganathan, Mysskin, Anupama Parameswaran, Kayadu Lohar, George Maryan