Tarun Shanker

A good solid movie that is alas a lost opportunity at greatness. India’s own “Departed” - well almost. “Ayudha ezuthu” and now CCV - multistarrer crime movies seem to bring out the best in Maniratnam of late - maybe he should stick to this genre instead of drab explorations of romantic relationships. Maybe the success of this movie would give Maniratnam a stab at epic greatness next time around. The movie delivers on what the trailers promised - nothing more nothing less - good performances form the primary cast, a racy action packed screenplay, ample “star” moments pandering to its leads. But then it just skims the surface of the mouth watering prospects that the milieu offered. The core conflicts are not organic and merely act as plot points to service the showdown rather than form the crux. All said and done Maniratnam’s back and hopefully next time he’ll bring the bang!