Kuruthi Aattam movie review: The Atharvaa-starrer action drama packs a punch despite its shortcomings

3/5

Story: A Madurai-based hospital attendant who is passionate about kabaddi is on a winning streak, thanks to his agility and coordination with co-players. One of the prominent players from the opposite team develops unconditional hatredness towards him which leads to a big gang war of sorts in town. How the latter's disgust towards the former results in never-before-seen bloodshed, betrayal and a shift in power politics in the city forms the rest of the story.  

Review: Sri Ganesh's debut film 8 Thottakkal was an impressive crime thriller which stood out among films belonging to the genre in recent years owing to its riveting screenplay, intriguing characterizations and stunning climax. His sophomore project Kuruthi Aattam, which has been lying in the cans for a long time, has finally hit the screens.

The film is the latest example of the popular butterfly effect theory. To sum up the movie's story, which involves various elements, characters, emotions and sub-plots in one line is challenging, to say the least. 

It all begins with kabaddi matches in Madurai where one team under the leadership of Sakthi (Atharvaa) keeps winning over the opponent team led by Muthu (Kanna Ravi). Arivu (Prakash Raghavan), a friend of the latter and a prominent player of his team, develops jealousy and hatredness towards Sakthi. 

One day, Sakthi loses his cool after constant provocation from Arivu; the former beats the latter black and blue. An upset Arivu sets out to finish off Sakthi. At the outset, this appears as a fight between two individuals, but their rivalry brings the entire Madurai town to a standstill.

Two of the biggest political kingpins in town - Gandhimathi aka Akka (Radhika Sarathkumar) and Durai (Radha Ravi) - along with a few criminals and prisoners become part of the clash. There is also a sub-plot involving an ex-prisoner who is caught between creating a beautiful world for his daughter and his desire to make money.

Then there is the mandatory heroine who fortunately doesn't possess regular character traits of female lead who appears just for the sake of it.

The director deserves a pat for developing a wafer-thin plot into a full-fledged raw action film. What triggers the major conflict is the ego of a kabaddi player towards his opponent. This is later fueled by the ego of a dreaded goon who becomes furious after he fails to finish off someone.

The action choreography composed by Vicky is a treat to watch. There are tons of fight sequences in various fashion involving several characters in unpredictable situations and complements the narration. However, action goes overboard and slo-mo shots become repetitive after a point, thus testing our patience.

Atharvaa is apt as the agile protagonist excelling in action and emotional scenes. Radhika's towering screen presence and experience bring life to some of the crucial scenes. Radha Ravi, Prakash, Kanna Ravi, Vinod Sagar and Vatsan come up with impressive performances, while Priya Bhavani Shankar's role could have been better. 

Some of the twists and turns are enjoyable, but too many sub-plots and characters dilute the otherwise gripping conflict. The director resorts to too many cinematic liberties on a few occasions when the protagonist becomes helpless. The cinematography by Dinesh Purushottaman is neat and music by Yuvan Shankar Raja works in parts. A slightly trimmed version of the movie is likely to have worked wonders. 

Verdict: As the title suggests, Kuruthi Aattam involves numerous murders, complicated assassination plans, aggressive rivalry and revenge-seeking men and women. The director manages to hold the attention of the viewers to a decent extent despite a few flaws.