Kollywood has seen many a movie on journalists and their undercover operations to bring the corrupt and evil elements to book. But rarely they ended up becoming an engrossing fare, bringing the audience to the edge of their seats.
But cinematographer - director K V Anand, who started his career as a photojournalist, has taken it in his stride, drawing perhaps instances from his real life to render a movie that is engrossing, entertaining and racy.
Unlike other movies of this genre, where mediamen are shown almost demi-gods, here Anand brings out the human element in the hearts of the scribes.
The manner in which he narrates the complicated working nature of the journalists in a simple manner deserves a special mention. His early days in his previous career has come really handy.
Anand brings out the guts, determination and the passion towards the profession through Jiiva, who plays Ashwin, a photojournalist with a newspaper called Dinanjali. The complex atmosphere in which these journalists work, the challenges that they face are brought out well indeed.
The detailing deserves a special mention. It is where the whole movie stands out. Better understanding of the situations ensures that we are into the movie straight away. The deadlines, pressure and the desire to break out new stories that is driving the scribes, are well captured. Anand thanks to writers Subha has etched out a script that is fast and furious.
Jiiva as the stylish photojournalist is the axle of the wheel. Equally complimenting him are Karthika and Piya playing journos. Then you have educated Ajmal, an aspiring politician, keen to bring a change in the society. Then there is one Chief Minister Prakashraj, who sets the ball rolling.
In a nutshell, the movie speaks about the valour of journalists. Anand has proved that pen is always mightier than sword. The movie begins at Dinanjali, a newspaper office where Ashwin (Jiva), is a photographer and Renu (Karthika) and Saro(Piyaa) are journalists. Up on their feet they have a nose for news. Ashwin's lens is creative and catch all well.
Then there is one an engineer Vasanth (Ajmal), an aspiriog politician who wants to bring a change by contesting elections. As any such story would have there is a Chief Minister Yogi (Prakashraj). A blast occurs and Saro is killed. It leads to chain reactions. The onus is now on Renu and Ashwin to unravel all and set things right. How they does it what the movie is all about!.
The performances by the central cast are superlative, and equally praiseworthy is a massive performance by the supporting cast.
Jiiva stands out as Ashwin. He is cool, suave, stylish and unblemished in the role. His body language and dialogue delivery are catchy and needs compliments. Also an angry young man wakes up in him and he brings out that transformation exceedingly well.
Ajmal is equally good. A man with a mission, he come up triumphs. Karthika is a good find by Anand. Daughter of yesteryear actress Radha, she plays a dedicated investigative journo with ease and elan. So is Piyaa. She is simple and elegant. Watch out for a stand out performance by Prakash Raj. After a long gap, he is back with a meaty role which he does well. His encounters with Jiiva deserves applause.
Harris Jayaraj is another hero. His smooth and catchy tunes coupled with racy background score peps up the proceedings.
The movie is audacious and pacy as the promos made us believe. The film manages to do one very crucial thing: it evokes your sentiments. You feel empathy, rage, helplessness, and triumph at every step of the way with the
journalists.
