Here's a gist of what works and what doesn't in R Ajay Gnanamuthu's second directorial outing:
What Works:
1. The casting choices - The three lead characters that appear on the film's poster are ideal choices. While Atharvaa mostly works from his comfort zone, Nayantara has done a remarkable job. In fact, hats off to her script choices of late. She is indeed the LADY SUPERSTAR (in an industry dominated by men) of our times for good reason. Anurag Kashyap pulls off his serial killer role with consummate ease, hamming it up only when needed. Vijay Sethupathi is wonderful in his little cameo role!
2. The cat-and-mouse narrative - Where the film scores the most is in its crafting of the lion-hyena theory that Kashyap's character mentions. There are a few edge-of-the-seat moments embedded in this thriller.
3. Technical crew - Some smart cinematography skills exhibited by RD Rajasekhar and efficient re-recording work from Hip Hop Thamizha. Some scenes would have benefited from a less noisy background score though. Songs are passable!
What Doesn't:
1. The run-time - 170 minutes for a thriller is ideal only if it has racy scenes and plenty of nail-biter moments. Unfortunately, there are commercial compromises made in the form of a bar song, a tepid romance (featuring Atharvaa and Rashi Khanna), and lengthy flashbacks. While the flashbacks atleast contribute to character development, the other two are pointless and makes the writing look a little lazy.
2. Turning your brain off - It doesn't help when there are moments/scenes that have been forcefully inserted to add to the emotional side of certain characters. Also, 'motive revelation' is a dampener. Logic, during a few instances, does take a backseat.
3. The ideas needed better execution - The film does put forward a couple of interesting hypotheses but these work better on paper than on screen. The transition from paper to screen isn't as smooth as one would expect!
