Cast: Kamal Hassan, Trisha
Banner: Raajkamal Films International
Editor: Vijay Shankar
Cinematography: Sanu Varghese
Music: M Ghibran
Producer: Chandrahasan
Director: Rajesh M Selva
Tagline: A decent onetime watch Unique Thriller!
Plot:
Diwakar (Kamal Haasan) is a cop who plans extortion of cocaine along with his colleague Mani. In a petty shootout, Diwakar and Mani claim a 10kg bundle of cocaine. But Diwakar's only child Vasu is kidnapped by Vittal Rao (Prakash Raj), a night club owner who demands Diwakar to handover the 10kg cocaine in exchange. On the other hand, Mallika (Trisha) and Mohan (Kishore) of the Narcotics Investigation Bureau are incharge of this case involving Diwakar, Mani & Vittal Rao. However the plot reveals some other unexpected names behind this drug deal. So how did Diwakar rescue his son and expose the bad guy forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Kamal Haasan: The universal hero and legendary actor is seen in yet another different role of a bad cop with an emotional side. His scenes with Prakash Raj and the 'action chemistry' with Trisha were refreshing.
Prakash Raj: He excels in the role of a troubled night club owner desperately chasing a drug deal.
Trisha: She gets a meaty role as an investigation officer and shares a dynamic chemistry with Kamal Haasan which you need to catch onscreen.
Sampath Raj: He plays the role of drug dealer who is later tricked.
Kishore: He manages to impress you as the lead baddie. You need to catch up the rest on the big screen.
Madhu Shalini: She plays a short yet significant character in the film.
The rest of the cast give their best to keep this thriller entertaining.
Analysis:
Debutant director Rajesh with the support of his backbone Kamal Haasan has dished out a loopholed adaptation of the French film Sleepless Night (2013). Before that, Rajesh & his team needs a tap on the back for an offbeat attempt and staying loyal to it without falling into the formula chakkar.
Now coming to the film, the story is robust enough and has the scope to turn into an edgy thriller. But Rajesh & Kamal Haasan (who provided screenplay for this film) were successful in cooking a half-baked thriller. The film is technically sound and keeps you at the edge of your seats in the first half with its crisp and engrossing narration. There hasn’t been much fuss around and the director swiftly transports the viewer into his grey world with intriguing stuff and dynamic screenplay. However, the story revolves around the same night pub and a series of convenient knots and beating around the bush ruin the proceedings in the second half. However, the realistic and engrossing performances of Kamal Haasan, Trisha, Prakash Raj, Sampath, Kishore & others keep the drama alive and passable.
The second half looked conveniently dragged up with a moderate high towards the end. Well, the best part is that the film did not accommodate drama at any instance.
Merits:
- Realistic performances of Kamal, Prakash Raj, Trisha, Sampath, Kishore, Madhushalini & others
- A Different Story.
- Short Runtime
- Ghibran Musi & Backgroundscore
- Gripping & Pacy first half
Demerits:
- Completely a story driven film and lack of conventional entertainment elements.
- Second Half is sluggish.
Music:
The only song in the film is the theme song and Ghibran impresses with the song and background score that goes in sync with the mood of the film and at the same time keeps the drama edgy.
Others:
The satirical special cameo by lyricist Rama Jogayya Sastry and writer Abburi Ravi is amusing.
Verdict:
Cheekati Rajyam is yet again a different attempt from Kamal Haasan. Especially not your routine commercial entertainer but indeed a film that aspires to be a kickass edgy thriller but ends up being a decent onetime watch (and that too for hardcore fans of Kamal and the genre).