Kathakali Tamil Movie Review

A slow starter with a gradual build up of the story, Pandiraj's Kathakali is a typical Tamil mass film that can be watched without much expectation. Its a typical formulaic film that has romance, songs (all timed waywardly), dance and above all good doses of action, suspense and some expected twists to make up for a festive season of Pongal that can cater to the masses.
Vishal is playing a young man Amudham who has just returned to his hometown Cuddalore from United States for his marriage with his love interest Meenu Kutty. He and his family had a bitter past and altercation with a local goon named Thamba who is also the head of the fisher folks of the area. But this quarrel was sometime back.
Now with the return of Amudham, under suspicious circumstances Thamba gets killed. The past squabble makes Amudhan and his family the prime suspects in the murder. How our hero proves his innocence and gets out of the mess is narrated quite well in the murder mystery.
The screenplay is paced well and have been provided a facelift to suit the demands of a thriller. The problem was in the first half. Kathakali takes time to settle. Initial phase gives more prominence for the romance between the lead pair. Also lot of time is taken for the build up of each character along with couple of songs timed very badly.
Its the second half where the film shift its gears for a much needed relief. At one hundred and twenty five minutes of running time, Kathakali has kept things simple and pretty straightforward. That approach from the director and his special treatment saved the film. Once again the climax part though with suspense and twist engage you, it could not provide a further push to the film making it a great thriller. Instead with an ending that was very much on the cards, Kathakali settle to be an average fare.
Vishal did his part in a normal way, nothing more or nothing less than what we expect. He was in his safe zone on the action front but struggled a bit on the romantic and ligher/ humorous portion. Catherine Tresa with a character with little importance in the overall scheme of things was able to make a mark with her bubbly and pretty looks. Malayalam actor Sreejith Ravi in a cop role excelled. Madhusoodanan as Thamba was a treat to watch and emoted well with brilliant expressions required for a villain. Rest of the supporting actors were fine.
I would say the songs were not upto the mark but it was just the opposite in the case of background score. What a thriller demanded from BGM, it was there aplenty. Action sequences were brilliantly choreographed. Decent camera work and neat cuts on the cinematography and editing table.
Overall, Kathakali had tautness and punch required for a thriller. Though the murder mystery along with the cat and mouse game unfold and happen way too late, its a watchable stuff coming from Pandiraj and Vishal Film Factory. My personal rating is two and a half out of five for Kathakali.
Rating - 2.5 / 5