Production: Sundar Annamalai Cast: Kishore, Sathyaraj, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar Direction: Sarjun KM Screenplay: Sarjun KM Story: Sarjun KM Music:Sundaramurthy KS Background score: Sundaramurthy KS Cinematography: Sudarshan Srinivasan Editing: Karthik Jogesh
V Sathyamurthi, the distributor of Vijay Sethupathi’s Oru Na ..
Idhu Manidhargal Nadamaadum Idam is a thriller centered around an abduction, a tested genre. The makers have even credited films like The Disappearance of Alice Creed, La Orca and Kadal as inspirations. So, does Echcharikkai offer anything fresh? While the story itself is nothing new, the way it has been treated is what makes this film a worthy experience.
Kishore plays David and debutant Vivek Rajgopal plays Thomas, his nephew. Director Sarjun, who shot to fame with his short films Lakshmi and Maa, has given the two an interesting background and it is the placement of this history in the narrative flow that makes the rest of the film interesting. Had the narrative been non-linear, it wouldn’t have created as much of a curiosity as it does in its present form.
Sathyaraj plays Natraj, a retired police officer and a single parent who takes care of his sick daughter. Varalaxmi plays Swetha, the woman who is abducted by David and Thomas.
The film creates an interesting premise, not with its story but with its characters. In that sense, this film has been aptly titled – ‘Warning – Beware of humans’. While the history between David and Thomas lets you second guess their dynamics, the shades that these characters take as the film progresses adds another layer of depth to it.
But since we’ve established that all the characters have more than one dimension to them, the story lacks a crucial element to increase the pace of this thriller. The interactions could’ve been a bit more intensely structured, dealing a little more with the greys of the human psyche.
Both Kishore and Vivek have done their parts really well. Varalaxmi’s character, however, could’ve been written better. While she plays the most important role of a hostage, a little more screen time would have intensified the film’s pace and lifted its overall effect. The film falls flat in some points and struggles to maintain the thrill because of this.
“Generally, filmmakers don’t elaborate the backstory of antagonists but Sarjun takes time to spend the conflict exists in the relationship of David and Thomas which is quite good. But the problem here is the unwanted long flashback scenes for Varalakshmi and Sathyaraj. While the kidnap episode and David-Thomas’ relationship are inspired, what really worked in favor of the film is the Sathyaraj’s portions,” the reviewer from Sify writes.
The Indian Express critics said: “But the film falls to chartered routes, establishing archetypes, but never providing the depth I needed to be engaged and convinced. Some of the plot transgressions, so glaringly two-dimensional, are further hampered by some done and dusted clichés.”
