Director: Sajid Yahiya
Cast: Jayasurya, Sshivada Nair, Madhupal, Sunil Sukhada, Joju George, Molly Kannamali, Yog Japee, Saiju Kurup
The title IDI means a punch colloquially and Jayasurya, who plays Inspector Dawood Ibrahim, lets his fists of fury do the talking. Debutant director Sajid has brought out a mass entertainer, uncommon in Mollywood, with comic and spoof elements thrown in.
Jayasurya is an honest and upright police officer, born into a wealthy family. A police officer was a dream nurtured since childhood and he grew on a staple of police films and was fascinated by superstar cops. But he dons the uniform much against the wishes of his father, played aptly by Madhupal.
His first posting is in Godforsaken Kollanahalli on the Kerala-Karnataka border, which has no proper police station or amenities. Crimes there are livestock or vegetable thefts by a gang of three petty thieves, led by Joju George, who acquits himself well. Sunil Sukhada and Molly Kannamali, who play Dawood’s subordinates, bring on comic relief through their dialogues and actions.
Dawood’s dreams of big bang bust of hardened criminals and crime cracking, aided by a police contingent, are shattered. But soon things begin to hot up with the sleepy town of Kollanahalli waking up to the news of a theft for the first time in 15 years. The script accommodates a dreaded overseas don, played by Yog Japee and three hi-tech thieves. How Jayasurya deals with these characters and takes things to a predictable end form the rest of the story.
Jayasurya is super in the role of a supremely confident muscle-flexing, gun-toting cop. He has been given a very stylish cop avatar, reminding one of the role played by Suriya in the Singham franchise.
There are lapses though, in Sajid’s debut attempt. Identities of characters are not well-established and slow-motion sequences of Jayasurya in uniform are jarring. Sshivada does not have a major role to play in a very hero-centric film, but has done her part well. Cinematography by Sujit Sarang is excellent, but soundtrack and background score by Rahul Raj call for improvement.
