COBRA (2022)

Critic No 283

Director: R. Ajay Gnanamuthu

Written by: R. Ajay Gnanamuthu, Neelan K Sekar, Kannan Sreevasthan, Azaruddin Alauddin, Innasi Pandiyan, Bharat Krishnamachari

Produced by: Seven Screen Studio

Casts:  Vikram, Srinidhi Shetty, Irfan Pathan, K.S.Ravikumar, Roshan Mathew, Anandraj, Robo Shankar, Miya George, Mirnalini Ravi, Meenakshi Govindarajan, John Vijay

Music: A.R.Rahman

Language: Tamil

Genre: Action, Thriller

SYNOPSIS: 

A genius mathematician, Mathi (Vikram) doubles up as a hit man, assassinating people opposing a ruthless corporate behemoth. While he manages to stay ahead of the interpol and the psychotic head of the corporation, who are after him, can he evade the mysterious hacker who is keen to unmask him?

REVIEW:

Ajay Gnanamuthu started his career with two blockbusters which had thrilling screenplays which connected greatly with mainstream audiences. With a dream start, he secured a big project with Vikram and with heavy promotions from the start, the film had created quite a big hype. After almost 2 years in the making, the Vikram starrer has finally hit the screen. Will it fulfill its mammoth expectations? 

Cobra begins with the chief minister of Orissa being shot at a public meeting in Coimbatore and the prince of Scotland is being killed during his wedding. Aslan (Irfan Pathan), the Interpol officer handling the case, comes to know of a thesis by college student Judith Samson (Meenakshi), who claims the two high-profile murders could have been carried out only by a genius mathematician. The only common connection seems to be the fact that both the victims had been critical of a corporate behemoth run by Rishi (Roshan Mathews). Meanwhile, Madhiazhagan (Vikram), the genius mathematician and master of disguise, is already working on his next assignment. However, to his rude shock, a mysterious hacker warns the cops and hopes to unmask Madhi. Can Mathi discover the unknown identity of his new mysterious foe?

Ajay sets the film up in a very thrilling way with a big scale assacination in Europe with A.R.Rahaman’s Adheera song pumping your heart to raise your nerves. With an interesting concept of a killer using mathematics to assassinate, the film races past twists and turns, keeping us at the edge of the seat to discover the reason behind the mentally disturbed Mathi. In terms of the investigation,  I really  disliked Judith Samson (Meenakshi) character (mainly due to the exaggerated acting) which felt more like an ADHD student than a genius. The first half ends with a killer twist. 

But where the film succumbs to cinematic liberties is the over-long, loud, melodramatic second half. Ajay stuffs the screenplay with too many subplots and flashbacks that tires the audience after a while. The romantic track of Srinidhi and Vikram is totally unwarranted and felt like it was designed to incorporate A.R.Rahman’s magical music, which here feels sadly abrupt. And for film buffs, some scenes also will remind us of films like ‘A Beautiful Mind (2001), Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004), ‘Dhoom 3 (2013)’, ‘Villain (2002)’ and even Vikram’s Anniyan (2005). The film does shed light on Schizophrenia with some nice surreal visuals and the interrogation that comes in the second half will be remembered for long in Vikram’s career. However, along the way, Ajay gets really distracted to include caricaturist villains and melodrama which he might have believed will enable him to cover a wider audience. Unfortunately, that brings the film downhill towards the climax. 

Throughout the film, we get to see more of what goes into the mind of our protagonist and the relationship he shares with reality. His mental battles humanize him and Vikram gallops the opportunity to flex his acting skills. He is terrific and anchors the film with his charisma. Due to the thin character designing, other actors are not given much scope to perform. Irfan Pathan as Aslan is just fine while Roshan Mathews does okay as a typical loud villain. 

The ideas are there and efforts are clearly visible to make it a unique, engaging watch with such grandeur. However, the promise really gets shattered a little in front of our eyes as the film staggers to the finish line. At the end of the film, only 2 things stick in our mind - Vikram’s dedicated performance and A.R.Rahman’s soulful music. 

VERDICT:

Though Cobra is overly stretched with tested ideas and convoluted plot, Vikram’s sparkling performance and A.R.Rahman’s ever dependable music keeps this ambitious film a float. 

CELLULOID METER- 2.75/5: