Rajathandhiram Movie Review
Rajathandhiram as the name suggests,is a con-caper laced with revenge, wit, humour & romance. What works here is director Amid's smart writing and brilliant screenplay sans all the normal cliches seen in such genre and it is packaged to entertain both the masses and classes alike.
The film starts with a silent flashback shot where we are shown a chit fund scam. Cut to the present, Arjun (Veera), Kullan aka Austin D'costa (Darbuka Shiva) and Deva (Ajai Prasath) are small time cons who lead a happy go-lucky life until they see the beautiful Michelle D'Mello (Regina Cassandra), who lost her father in the chit fund scam. <P>
Having fallen in love with Regina, for the first time Arjun and his friends decide to loot a big amount which lands them in conflict with Madhav Iyer (Ilavarasu) and Aadukalam Naren who are planning a heist. Arjun meticulously plans to loot a leading jewellery shop which is run by the powerful Azahagapan (Pattiyal Sekar). Why and how they plan the robbery is left to be watched on the big screen.
Director Amid takes his own time to elaborate his characters in detail and once that part is over in the first half with romance thrown in, the film takes off in high octane speed in the latter half, with an intelligent narration. The perfect casting, subtle humor along with smart writing makes Rajathandhiram an interesting watch compared to the recent con movies in Tamil cinema. On the downside, the heist is quite dramatic and the climax looks compromised to get a U certificate.
Veera does an impressive job as Arjun and there is a simmering intensity to his performance. Regina Cassandra looks adorable. Darbuka Shiva evokes constant laughter with his casual comic one liners. But the film's biggest revelation is Pattiyal Sekar who steals the show with his unique dialogue delivery and mannerisms, and the cool, effortless villainy characterization reminds us the Agni Natchathiram Umapathi or Aayutha Ezhuthu Bharathiraja.
Technically, Rajathandhiram is super impressive for the budget involved. SR Kathir's cinematography is top notch and the night shots inside the jewelery shop is one of the major highlights of the movie. Background score by Sandeep Chowta indeed accelerates the tempo of the movie while GV Prakash Kumar's melody is enjoyable with montage shots.
Rajathandhiram is an intriguing new age heist drama and at a crisp 135 minutes, its a perfectly satisfying watch!
