Vithaikkaaran Movie Review: Where is the magic in this Sathish-starrer crime thriller?

Vithaikkaaran seems to take tonal shifts at a flick of a switch, from emotional drama and an investigative crime thriller to dark comedy. But they are either too fast or less memorable

Vithaikkaaran poster

Vithaikkaaran

Vithaikkaaran story

Vetri (Sathish) is a magician, who somehow gets acquainted with the lord of a smuggling racket and strikes a deal to retrieve contraband in return for certain advantages. But in the meantime, he received a blow on his head, making him lose his memory. Meanwhile, investigative journalist Sithara (Simran Gupta) tries to bust a drug racket. What really happens and does Sathish have ulterior motives for the heist?

Also read: Vithaikkaaran Teaser: Sathish plays a skilled magician roped in for a risky operation 

Vithaikkaaran review

The one-liner of Vithaikkaaran gives a promising idea of a crime thriller and if you throw in a cast comprising Anandraj, Sathish, Chaams, and other comedians, you might think that the film might also take a dark comedy route. After all, crime scenes and good comedy make up for a good dose of one-liners in whacky situations. The makers of Vithaikkaaran also seem to have such similar thoughts, but the film hardly manages to pull in any strings to make this work. 

Like in the title and the trailer cut, we are constantly reminded of how the protagonist is a magician. In fact, we also get an interesting explanation of how a magician is the only person whom people accept to be cheated on while also being paid for the same. This, coupled with retrieving a contraband, gives several exciting ways the screenplay of the film can be structured to make it an engrossing watch.

Also read: From Rajinikanth’s Lal Salaam to Manikandan-starrer Lover, here are all Tamil films releasing in February  

But alas, Vithaikkaaran barely manages to scratch the surface. We are repeatedly bombarded with references to magic, and thanks to a little flashback and a constant background score, the film barely wants to explore the magic. We are never told what Vetri’s body of work in magic has been or even shown how he taps the potential of a magician in executing his mission. 

Does his childhood fascination make him want to be a magician? If that is the case, would not doctors and policemen be the only professions we would see now? I get it if the makers had not resorted to childish tricks or cheap tactics to show the magic, but Vithaikkaaran barely manages to show even that. There is also ambiguity about Vetri’s ulterior motives associated with the racket, even if the final reveal manages to address it.

There is also a great deal of tonal shift in the film, which does not benefit the film. At one point, it is ruminating over a lost love; on the other, it is about dark comedy and quirky characters, whereas the film also has some probing angles in the form of Sithara. The characters are made to have cardboard-like and make-believe personalities, thus totally giving any opportunity to stick with the film’s pace. Sithara is told to be a gossip columnist; at one point, she is seen dissecting a crime scene and for the most part, trying to crack a smuggling racket. Vithaikkaaran soon becomes a classic example of too many cooks spoiling the broth when it simply does not know where to explore or not.

Vithaikkaaran verdict

Vithaikkaaran tries to pull off some one-liners but they land flat, baring a few. There aren't any memorable set pieces to recall the film by. Vithaikkaaran seems to take tonal shifts at a flick of the moment, from emotional drama to investigative crime thriller to dark comedy. But they are either too fast or less memorable to savour the moments. The characters, too, are etched deep enough and songs, even if there are only two, stick out like a sore thumb.

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