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Gangster flick with a message
‘Chiyaan’ Vikram has had a rollercoaster of a career ever since he made his return to mainstream cinema with Tamil hit ‘Sethu’, remade into many languages nearly two decades ago. If he was a frontrunner in the first decade of the new millennium, his films gradually dropped at the box office in the second, as fellow heroes in his hometown overtook him both at home and elsewhere.
‘Chiyaan’ Vikram has had a rollercoaster of a career ever since he made his return to mainstream cinema with Tamil hit ‘Sethu’, remade into many languages nearly two decades ago. If he was a frontrunner in the first decade of the new millennium, his films gradually dropped at the box office in the second, as fellow heroes in his hometown overtook him both at home and elsewhere.
Like Ravi Teja, he too has had a delayed run of success and is pushing 50+ as far as his age goes. Yet, he shows the same kind of high energy levels that his Telugu counterpart has, even as the heroines whom he romances are a good two decades and more younger!
‘Sketch’, a Pongal release in Tamil Nadu did not make it to the top of the heap with other films managing a better recall value among the audience. Backed by ‘ Kalaipuli’ S Thanu and Suresh Productions, it has made a bold entry into the Telugu territory, six weeks after its original version came out.
An action thriller firmly rooted in the crime underbelly of Chennai, (suitably changed for the Telugu nativity requirement) has its initial one hour of the proceedings very routinely presented.
A villain kind of a hero, his friends who stand by him through thick and thin, an upper caste girl who falls for him after realizing his golden heart and altruism and the race between the cops and the protagonist to wipe out the enemies in the final reels… all are boringly the same.
Yet, using the vehicle seizing types as an example, director Vijay Chander manages to raise the bar in the last few reels when Vikram takes the other side top gun Babu Raj head on and succeeds in his mission to eliminate him and avenge the losses of his friends and family. A whiff of intelligent, thoughtful narration comes through as both the warring groups close in on each other to finish the fight once and for all.
The climax, where the message is embedded, is a surprise but given the hints the proceedings throw up at the viewer, it is not entirely new. The sad, one-way street life of these misdirected youth who get sucked by a life of power and paisa to sacrifice all that they have is evident. Vikram looks haggard despite a bushy beard and the age gap with the svelte Tamannah shows all too clearly.
