NETRIKANN (2021)
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| Critic No. 232 |
Director: Milind Raju
Written by: Milind Raju
Produced by: Cross Pictures, Rowdy Pictures
Casts: Nayanthara, Ajmal Ameer, Manikanden
Language: Tamil
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Music: Girishh Gopalakrishnan
SYNOPSIS:
When fear grips Chennai as girls get abducted in the city, blind ex-cop Durga (Nayanthara) becomes the prime witness in the case and the kidnapper's object of obsession
REVIEW:
Netrikann begins with Durga, a CB-CID officer, losing her brother (Sacchin Nachiappan) due to a freak accident in which she loses her vision as well. While Durga learns to live on her own while grieving her brother’s death, her biggest test comes when she has to track down a twisted psychopath (Ajmal Ameer), who kidnaps and tortures women for kinks, and has started to fancy her as a victim.
The film has a juicy plot for an intense thriller and has an assured technical team that ensures the look of the film is not compromised at any point. Loosely adapted from the Korean film, Blind (2011), Netrikann does successfully keep us on the edge of our seats for the most part with a few nail biting sequences that are very well staged. The most strongest aspect for me is the refined emotional arc designed for Nayanthara’s role that makes us sympathize with her baggage that he is trying to get over. Milind Raju also gradually establishes the bond between her and the supporting characters, Manikandan (Manikandan), a rookie cop and Gautham (Saran), a delivery boy, who reminds Durga of her brother. This dynamic relationship gets involved through the course of the story that helps Durga to get over her internal battles by the end of the story. The way Milind engineer’s her redemption till the end is one of the best aspect of the film. I just felt that the character deserved a better screenplay.
Even though Ajmal is terrific as the psychopath villain, his character is weakly designed with a shockingly flat back story that pulls the film’s weight quite significantly. Since the antagonist was introduced very early in the film (with a nicely shot, disturbing torture scene), as the film progresses, I got numb with his antics and nothing really hit me. Some scenes like the revelation of Ajmal’s wife resembling Durga and his escape towards the climax stick out like really bad writing. Illogical sequences start to dangerously shape up the final sequences that painfully drag towards the climax. It was a pity that Milind lost his grip towards the end after setting up impressively in the first half.
Nayanthara literally holds the fort with her memorable performance and Ajmal is on par with her despite his weakly written role. Manikanden and Saran Sakthi fit the bill as important supporting characters of the film. The performance stand is the best department in the film for me with each actor, from lead to the extras, giving their sincere efforts. Technically the film is solid with heart racing sound design and sleek cinematography by RD Rajasekar. Music composer Girishh Gopalakrishnan shines with the ‘Idhuvum Kadanthu Pogum’ song that honestly lifts the film’s energy at a significant point and helps Milind to close with a bang. Watch out for Bombay Jayshree’s version of the song in the final scene that pushes the tone of the film back to track, emphasizing the character arc of Durga. The stunts well staged as well and my favourite was the heart pumping brawl between Nayanthara and Ajmal before the latter gets caught.
That said, despite its flaws, ‘Netrikann’ does a neat job entertaining thriller lovers with an intense premise and good performances. Milind Raja might have taken a slight dip after his impressive debut horror flick, Aval (2018) but definitely a promising filmmaker to watch out for.
VERDICT:
Though it gets shaky towards the end,‘Netrikann’ is a template driven but engaging crime thriller that will be remembered for Nayanthara’s remarkable, career defining performance.
CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5:
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