Sawaari (Tamil, 2016)

The best thing about Sawaari is Guhan Senniappan brilliant writing which effortlessly goes back & forth keeping us on our toes even though the turn of events are not highly unpredictable. Another important factor is that it does not have any twists just for the sake of it. The script keeps us aware of the danger lurking around the corner with a slight humorous undercurrent keeping our emotions in check.

Karthik Yogi who plays the role of the driver Ravi is fantastic & completely overshadows the rest of the cast including the protagonist played adequately by Benito Franklin and the mad men Mathivanan & T.M.Karthik. Karthik brings in humour with his dialogue modulation while still retaining the mouse-caught-in-the-trap expression.

T.M.Karthik & Mathivanan who play the eccentric men bring in the necessary quirks needed for their characters. A prominent theatre actor, T.M.Karthik brings his A-game to the table having been given a meaty role for a change instead of the regular comic roles where he is often typecast. The MLA & his goons too add color to this tale with Ram Doss shining as the henchman. Particularly liked Ram Doss’ t-shirt which proclaimed “Constipated people don’t give a crap”!!!

Vishal Chandrasekhar gets another film to showcase his range given that the film depends on his stunning background score to keep us hooked. In spite of being similar to Jil Jung Juk in theme, the treatment as well as Vishal’s score are diametrically different from the former.

Top technicians Chezhian & the late Kishore have taken immense efforts to prevent the lack of budget showing on screen. It shows in how they have used the helicam & car dashboard cam to maximum benefit.

While the overall film does keep us satisfied, there are places where the amateurishness in dialogues, acting & execution shows making us shift uneasily in our seats in the theatre. Of course, this is pardonable given that this is the debut effort from a young team.

The love track of the ACP is a complete mess not having any sort of impact on the audience. Similarly, when people utter the word ‘Psycho’ repeatedly instead of the appropriate ‘மனநோயாளி’, it is extremely odd.