| Drohi  | Critic's Rating: **1/2 Cast: Srikanth, Vishnu, Thiyagarajan, Pooja, Poonam Bajwa, Poorna, SPB Charan Direction: Sudha K Prasad Readers Rating: **1/2  |
Movie Review : It's been a while since a director had a great story to tell, and since it comes from a debutant female director, you want to say 'Hats off.' A former assistant of Mani Ratnam, Sudha takes on a 'gangsta' theme, with undercurrents of a friendship gone awry, which is a landmine for the most seasoned of directors.
It has a high octane opening, as you see an adult man, blindfolded and tied to the tracks. As he screams in fear as a train comes menacingly close, your heart goes thud-thud. And when he mutters that 21 trains will pass, of which only one will roll down on the track he is cowering upon, it is high drama. It is his best friend who has put his life on the line, and as far as originality goes, this is really a good one. The flashback, when it starts, is fairly riveting too.
A short and chubby Sami (Srikanth), a Brahmin boy, is buddies with the tall and lanky Karuna (Vishnu) , both 10-year old students in a Royapuram slum. Sami is all brains while Karuna is all brawn. Into their unruly life comes school teacher Roja (Pooja). When she is murdered in front of the boys, Karuna wants to kill the murderer, and Sami comes up with the plan. When they are hauled to the police station, Sami confesses that Karuna is the killer, and their life changes forever. Years later, Karuna is appearing for IPS exams while Sami is now the right-hand man of thug Narayanan (Thiayagarajan). The simmering enmity and the constant one-upmanship is handled deftly by the debutant director. However, when she introduces child sexual abuse into the melting pot of friendship, rivalry and romance, the story somewhat slackens and the numerous twists and turns lose their edginess. But it picks up towards the end, and as they say, all is well that ends well.
It has a high octane opening, as you see an adult man, blindfolded and tied to the tracks. As he screams in fear as a train comes menacingly close, your heart goes thud-thud. And when he mutters that 21 trains will pass, of which only one will roll down on the track he is cowering upon, it is high drama. It is his best friend who has put his life on the line, and as far as originality goes, this is really a good one. The flashback, when it starts, is fairly riveting too.
A short and chubby Sami (Srikanth), a Brahmin boy, is buddies with the tall and lanky Karuna (Vishnu) , both 10-year old students in a Royapuram slum. Sami is all brains while Karuna is all brawn. Into their unruly life comes school teacher Roja (Pooja). When she is murdered in front of the boys, Karuna wants to kill the murderer, and Sami comes up with the plan. When they are hauled to the police station, Sami confesses that Karuna is the killer, and their life changes forever. Years later, Karuna is appearing for IPS exams while Sami is now the right-hand man of thug Narayanan (Thiayagarajan). The simmering enmity and the constant one-upmanship is handled deftly by the debutant director. However, when she introduces child sexual abuse into the melting pot of friendship, rivalry and romance, the story somewhat slackens and the numerous twists and turns lose their edginess. But it picks up towards the end, and as they say, all is well that ends well.
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