Saithan Review
Vijay Antony’s Saithan needs a big round of applause as he proves once again that it's not necessary to have a bandwagon of superstars or big names to make an engaging film.
The film lives up to the huge expectations which it carried, after that blockbuster called Pichaikaran.. In one line, Saithan is a smartly written high-concept psychological thriller, which is packaged with all commercial elements that will please Vijay Antony fans. Inspired by Sujatha’s novel (not mentioned here to avoid spoilers), newcomer Pradeep Krishnamoorthy has adapted the core concept within commercial cinema boundaries.
Except for the pre-climax portion (few cinematic liberties has been taken), Pradeep’s whip-smart writing and Vijay Antony’s subtle performance make Saithan one powerful film that deserves to be watched. Make time for this well made psychological thriller.
Dinesh (Vijay Antony) is a soft-spoken software engineer, who leads quite a normal life until he gets to know about Ishwarya (Arundhathi Nair) from a matrimony site and he eventually marries her. Few days after his wedding, Dinesh starts hearing strange voices, which creates huge havoc that he even becomes the major reason for the death of his close friend (Aadukalam Murugadoss).
This strange voice keeps reminding him about someone called Jayalakshmi or urge him to commit suicide! When Dinesh’s boss (Y Gee Mahendran) takes him to a psychiatrist (Kitty), we get to know the answers to all the unanswered questions.
Saithan’s biggest advantage is the highly engaging first half that we are completely carried away by the mystery around Vijay Antony’s character.
Interestingly, we are unable to predict anything till intermission and major credit should go to the brilliant screenplay. Post intermission, the director finds the answer to all the twists, as the mystery starts unwinding.
For Vijay Antony, Saithan is a tailored made role and the actor looks more confident and infuses power into this thriller. He shoulders the complex role of Dinesh and Sharma with confidence. The major success of Vijay Antony is that he looks real on screen and he doesn't take any special effort to achieve the ‘so-called’ method acting standards, which makes us to relate with his character and performance.
Another positive aspect about Saithan is the apt casting. Arundhathi as Aishwarya and Jayalakshmi is perfect as she looks fresh, natural and vulnerable. Similarly, Y Gee Mahendra as the caring boss, Charuhasan as the old constable and Kitty as the psychiatrist have done complete justice to their characters. The two baddies does not have much scope though new face Siddharth Shankar is promising.
Technically Saithan looks slick, Pradeep Kalipurayath’s different color tones for the present and flashback portions is commendable. Vijay Antony’s background score have taken Saithan to a different level while the ‘Jayalakshmi’ song conveys the core plot of the film and sets the right mood.
Overall, Saithan is definitely yet another unique attempt by Vijay Antony and it will be surely enjoyed by audience, who love tense mystery thrillers.
