Iraivi Review
Director: Karthik Subbaraj
Cast: SJ Suryah, Bobby Simha, Vijay Sethupathi
The much hyped Karthik Subburaj's Iraivi is constructed around a terrific, refreshingly original premise but the film too is high on concept, short on story, and plainly indulgent in its second half.
The film opens nicely with two young women (Poignant Ponni played by Anjali and Self-restraint Yazhini played by Kamalinee Mukherjee) dreaming about their future, one decides to marry a filmmaker Arul (SJ Suryah)and the other wants a groom who has filmstar looks! Then there is an elderly woman (Vadivukkarasi), who is upset with her disrespectful husband.
Iraivi is all about the lives of a failed filmmaker (SJ Suryah), his cunning brother Jagan (Bobby Simha) and Michael (Vijay Sethupathi) who is more than like a brother to them. All these three men are unidimensional and in other words, they are least bothered about women in their lives, which in turn collapses their dreams.
With so much going on, it’s no surprise that the film feels inordinately long-and it is, unfolding leisurely at 2 hours and 40 minutes! Almost every second scene in the film has people drinking and smoking and the violence is shown realistically, with blood essentially written all over it! A well deserved UA certificate!
The film benefits also from a top-notch cast who do some of their best work here. Among the male leads it is SJ Suryah who sinks his teeth into the role of a compulsive drunk. With minimal dialogues and no make-u at all, Anjali leaves a lasting impression. Vijay Sethupathi is riveting as Michael and Bobby Simha is adequate.
Techcinally Iraivi is top notch, especially Sivakumar Vijayan's visuals convey several hidden layers and genuinely capture the mood of the characters with ease. Music by Santhosh Narayanan is just ok but he scores with the BGM that it takes the film to a different level.
On the whole, Iraivi may not be appealing to all. But Watch it once, for it bravely treads new ground.
