Writer movie review: Samuthirakani is terrific in this cop drama which touches upon pertinent issues

3.5/5

Story: The life of a Trichy-based head constable-cum-writer, who has an experience of more than three decades, turns topsy-turvy after he lands in Chennai owing to a punishment transfer. A soft-hearted person by nature, he gets indirectly involved in a fabricated case because of which an ambitious youngster goes through horrifying incidents. He badly wants to help the youngster. But fate had some other plans for him. 

Review: Franklin Jacob's Writer is the latest addition to Tamil movies which have dealt with police brutality. But the film is a far cry from the likes of Visaranai, Kavalthurai Ungal Nanban and the recently released Jai Bhim. Unlike these movies, the bad cops in Writer aren't sadist cops who derive pleasure in brutally attacking prisoners.

Here, the director has emphasized on the various dangerous and insensitive ways in which cops are able to come up with fabricated evidences so as to frame whoever they want to, if their reputation is at stake.

The movie begins with Thangaraj (Samuthirakani), a Trichy-based cop, who has been working as a writer for 35 years. In an unfortunate turn of events, despite earning good name as a kind-hearted policeman, he gets transferred to Chennai as a punishment for initiating police union in the police station.

With a little time left for his retirement, he hopes to spend quality time in Chennai, but little did he know that his career and personal life would turn upside down after he has been assigned to keep an eye on Devakumar (Harikrishnan), a culprit who has been kept under unofficial custody.

As Thangaraj was displeased with the behaviour of his colleagues with regard to keeping the details of Devakumar under wraps, he starts enquiring the case and discovers that the latter is a student who has been purposefully framed by a senior cop (Kavin Jay Babu) to hide something serious.  

Quite distressed at how his colleagues treat Deva, Thangaraj decides to help him and his family. But call it fate, Thanga loses more than what he had anticipated in the legal battle.

The writing of the film reminds us of the path created by Pa Ranjith in Tamil cinema. Interestingly, he is one of the producers of Writer, too. It is a no-holds-barred depiction of how hierarchy works in police stations. The inhumane manner in which seniors behave to their subordinates and the power conflicts within cops who maintain the same rank are portrayed in a hard-hitting manner.

The impact of Vetri Maaran's Visaaranai was so powerful that there has been a significant change in the mindset of people when they looked at cops after having watched the film.

Writer offers a similar experience to the viewers. Some of the ways in which a fake crime scenes is created with the sole purpose of framing Devakumar sends shivers down the spine. Amid the slew of films which we often come across in which cops are glorified, movies like this help us sit and ponder about the system we are also indirectly part of. 

One of the reasons why the movie will haunt us for a long time is because of the superb performance from Samuthirakani. It's a treat to watch him emote the plight of a kind-hearted cop who is torn between duty and humanity. This is also a welcome change for the actor from those repeated preachy characters he has been taking up in the recent times.

Harikrishnan and Kavin are aptly casted as the ambitious student and cunning cop respectively. The director ensures that every character which appears in the film has a meaty role to play. 

A sub-plot involving the conflict between the senior cop and a female cop (played by Ineya) which reeks of sexism and caste discrimination is a testimony to the filmmaker's ability in handling sensitive issues.

Pratheep Kaliraja's cinematography and Govind Vasantha's music elevate the impressive performances and impactful writing. A few slow-paced sequences lacked depth, which is perhaps, the only negative aspect of the movie. It, however, doesn't affect the narration flow of the film.

Verdict: Writer is a bold portrayal of injustice meted out to the common man due to the manipulations cops indulge in for their selfish motives.