FIR movie review: Vishnu Vishal, Raiza Wilson and Reba Monica John shine in this fast-paced thriller

3/5

Story: An extraordinary talented, but unemployed chemical engineering graduate, is accused of being the mastermind behind bomb blasts which rocked the cities of Colombo and Hyderabad. The National Security Agency believes that he is planning more attacks in India, especially in Tamil Nadu. They also strongly suspect him to be Abu Bakkar Abdullah, the most wanted terrorist in the country. However, the youngster denies his association with terrorist groups and claims to be innocent. Will he be set free by the investigative officers? 

Review: Manu Anand's FIR touches upon a sensitive subject which also is quite relevant in today's times. The movie's plot revolves around Irfan Ahmed (Vishnu Vishal), an unemployed chemical engineering graduate who lives with his mother Parveena Begum (Maala Parvathy), who works as a cop.  

One day, Irfan, who joins as an employee under Perumal (RNR Manohar), a successful entrepreneur who runs a chemical business, travels to Hyderabad as part of his work. Meanwhile, Ajay Dhewan (Gautham Menon), the head of National Security Agency and his team are busy trying to learn the plans of Abu Bakkar Abdullah, a dreaded terrorist who is planning attacks in Colombo and India. 

However, they fail to stop the attacks in Colombo. They are hell-bent on stopping the terrorists from executing more attacks in India, especially in Tamil Nadu. Anisha Qureshi (Riza Wilson) and Gunasekar (Praveen Kumar), who are also part of the investigate team, put their best foot forward while tracking movements of suspected people in Chennai.

Irfan, who is about to board a flight from Hyderabad to Chennai, loses his phone at the airport, after which he gets into a heated debate with the officials there. A slip of tongue lands him in trouble and he is questioned by the NSA team to know if he has any connection with terror groups.

Few minutes into the interrogation, a blast outside the airport takes the life of 10 innocent people. This puts Irfan on the spot; more evidences against him leads to his arrest, though he keeps denying any links with the blast. 

Prarthana (Manjima Mohan), who appears as Irfan's lawyer, too, starts suspecting him after a point despite lending support to him initially. Who is Irfan? Is he the real Abu Bakkar Abdullah who the NSA is after?

The film stresses on the trauma which Muslim community in our society often undergoes. The repeated questioning of 'are u religious' during job interviews often upsets Irfan which make him realize that he doesn't enjoy the perks enjoyed by other communities in the country. 

The suspicion with which others look at him whenever he does something unusual makes him uncomfortable though he has experienced in several times. The movie has appropriately portrayed the struggles of someone who has been framed just because he belongs to a particular community. The dialogue 'criminals are not born, they are made by the system' uttered by Irfan at a crucial point in the story pretty much reflects various loopholes in our law system.

Vishnu Vishal is effortless playing terror accused Irfan who is torn between protecting his unwell mother and proving his innocence. He excels in action sequences and emotional scenes as well. Maala Parvathy as the doting mother is aptly cast. The three female leads have been written interestingly. 

Raiza as the aggressive and taut NSA officer Anisha does her part quite convincingly, while Manjima as lawyer Prarthana has a few notable scenes to perform. The director presents Reba Monica John's character, Archana, as Irfan's love interest, with ample suspense attached to it. Just when you think her character is another typical heroine which makes a blink-and-miss appearance, a twist appears which offers her more to do in the story. With subtle expressions and a stiff body language, Gautham as the NSA head, is convincing. 

FIR has more such twists in the latter half, but some of them aren't convincing. When you wonder how Irfan is going to come out of solid evidence-based accusations, the director chooses to offer twists and turns which are hard to digest for everyone. They are delivered back-to-back and too unbelievably cinematic, to say the least.  

Even with suspension of disbelief, you might find it a little difficult to come to terms with the rushed up ending and character arc provided to the protagonist in the third act. The climax setting reminds you of the similarity it shares with the climax of the first season of The Family Man. 

Nevertheless, FIR is an engaging fare, thanks to Arul Vincent's visuals, fast-paced screenplay, effective background score by Ashwath and action scenes by Stunt Silva.

Verdict: The crime thriller has ample thrilling moments supported by an abled technical team and impressive performances from its actors.