Kaaval is a classic example of what happens when a good plot is marred by poor execution. The film begins well, with an intense voice-over by Gautham Menon. Killing has become a profession in the country, he says gravely.
After that though, the whole movie just falls apart, with one too many clichés.
Vemal essays the role of an unemployed youngster (again), with a bunch of like-minded friends. Figure, thanni and side-dish are all that they care about. We have a heroine who falls for the vetti guy, an over-the-top villain who awards medals to his goons for killing people, four corrupt policemen, and the nermaiyana Police adhigaari.
And then, there are the songs. One for every occasion, with the quintessential bar number, and a special one with scantily-clad women.
*****
What Kaaval aspires to be is a hard-hitting tale of crime vs. justice. It would like to be the story of an honest cop, Chandrasekar (played strongly by Samuthirakani), his love for khaaki, and how he takes on contract killers who have infiltrated all walks of life. But we see none of that because the director wants a little too much of everything – romance, comedy, and sleaze.
The track between Vemal and Gheetha is uninspiring, and Gheetha’s poor lip-sync doesn’t help matters. Samuthirakani is perhaps the strong point in the film. His no-frills performance comes with pitch-perfect dialogue delivery, and decent stunt sequences. But Vemal, on the other hand, has nothing new to offer. He has mastered the art of portraying the ‘unemployed, aimless youngster’, and doesn’t seem to want to branch out to something more meaningful.
Deva is convincing in his role as Karna, the bling-loving ‘dada‘, while Gheetha, who has also produced the film, delivers an off-key performance as the leading lady.
Recommended
The songs by GV Prakash are forgettable, and forced in-between scenes at will, and the saving grace is the background score by Dharan, which enhances the pace of the screenplay. The editing is slick and the two-hour run-time comes as a relief.
Debutant R Nagendran attempts an edge-of-the-seat crime thriller, and it would have worked, if only he hadn’t succumbed to the ‘formula’.
PS: This film was initially titled Nee Ellam Nalla Varuvada. Just saying.
*****
The Kaaval Review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.