Kadaram Kondan Movie Review:Rating 3.5/5
Genre
: Thriller
Cast
: Vikram and Akshara Haasan
Directed By
: Rajesh Selva
Produced By
: Kamal Haasan & R. Ravindran
Written By
: Rajesh Selva
Photography
: Srinivas R. Gutha
Music By
: M. Ghibran
Edited By
: Praveen K. L.
Production Company
: Raaj Kamal Films International
Distributed By
: Trident Arts
Tamil cinema hasn’t had great success in pulling off stories convincingly when set in foreign lands. However, Vikram’s Kadaram Kondan, directed by Rajesh Selva and based on French thriller Point Blank, might be ineffective in its storytelling, but does justice to its backdrop (Malaysia) and that’s one of the primary reasons why the film works and deserves a watch, in addition to Vikram’s sparkling screen presence.Based on a French movie, A Bout Portant (which spawned an American work, Point Blank now streaming on Netflix), Kadaram Kondan’s most important attraction can only be actor Vikram, who plays KK – a mysterious man. Is he a gangster or a double agent or a cop? We would never know.
Selva’s narrative begins with KK in a dare-devil escape from the Petronas Twin Towers that will put to shame the antics of the Spiderman. But as luck would have it, he gets knocked down in a road accident as he is chased by two of his adversaries.Kadaram Kondan revolves around Vasu (played by newcomer Abi Hassan) a doctor and his pregnant wife Aathira (played by Akshara Haasan), who had recently moved to Kuala Lampur. Their lives become entangled with crime when KK (played by Vikram) a mysterious man with a dubious criminal record gets admitted to the hospital, where Vasu is working in. The film opens with a chase as a bloodied KK is on the run from armed men. The aerial shots by Srinivas R. Gutha adds a lot to the intrigue of the sequence.
But then on, the film focuses on the relationship between Vasu and Aathira. The film gives more space to the moments between them. The first half is mainly focused on KK’s recuperation and the procedural that is triggered by his presence. The film suffers from minor pacing issues, especially during moments where the plot relies on Vasu and KK alone. During these portion, the sense of threat is conveyed in a less-effective manner.The entire first half of the movie is absolutely dull. Apart from Vikram discretely showing his ability to carry any kind of look, there is actually nothing in the script to hook you up. You can clearly sense where things are going and nothing in terms of presentation is there to make you feel that the craft in making is refreshing. It is only in the second half there is some kind of life in this film. But that too gets ruined by pretentious and over-ambitious sequences. Rajesh M Selva’s way of adding chase sequences doesn’t have any sort of smoothness. There is nothing wrong in having a chase sequence in a thriller like this, but here if they simply edit out that entire set-piece, the movie won’t have any problem in moving on. Such is the way a lot of portions have been included in this film.
Vikram doesn’t get much to do to flex his acting prowess but has ample scope to shine as a star and play to the gallery. In one scene, we see him light a cigar while getting a gash to his abdomen stitched. He hardly speaks and even when he does in a few scenes, he sticks to a few words. It’s an interesting character with layers but it’s disappointing that it doesn’t get fleshed out properly. Till the end, KK remains as a mysterious character.
Debutant Abi Hassan is a talent to watch out for. Not only does he comfortably slip into the shoes of Vasu, a character who is scared but at the same time willing to do anything to save his wife; he leaves a strong mark despite sharing the screen with Vikram throughout. In fact, he has more screen time than Vikram.
