Naachiyaar movie review: 'Lady Singham' Jyothika's fearless act steals the show

Direction: Bala

Cast: Jyothika, GV Prakash, Ivana, Rockline Venkatesh, Dr Gurushankar

National award winning filmmaker Bala’s penchant for the dark side of human lives is common knowledge. In stark contrast, the ace filmmaker has come out with a soft-toned movie. Still the characteristic of Bala’s basics like a persona from a lower economic background, taking a dig on religion and caste, crude violence which puts you off, are all intact in Naachiyaar, but at acceptable levels. And surprisingly, the film ends on a happy note.

Also read: Jyothika trolled for swearing in Tamil

ACP Naachiyaar (Jyothika) is an upright cop and is known for her violent interrogations. She cancels her foreign tour with her family comprising of her doctor husband (Dr Gurushankar) and daughter, as she has to handle a sensitive case of a minor who is raped and becomes pregnant. A couple is involved in it – Kaathavarayan aka Kaathu (GV Prakash), belonging to a slum who ekes out an income by selling fruits, and Arasi (Ivana), who is a housemaid. Kaathu is arrested by another team led by Feroz (Rockline Venkatesh) and sent to a juvenile home. Arasi reveals to Naachiyyaar during interrogation that Kaathu is her lover. That’s when Naachiyaar, who takes a soft spot for Arasi, decides to take the case under her control. When Arasi delivers a child, things take a drastic turn, which complicates the investigations.

Extracting the best from his cast is Bala’s forte. In that sense, all the three main roles - Jyothika, who seemingly is portrayed as female version Durai Singam (a powerful cop role of Suriya in Singam), GV Prakash and Ivana around whom the story revolves have given a solid performance.

Jyothika as the fearless Naachiyaar is full of life and steals the show. Her effortless and uninhibited energetic performance is a treat to watch. But one feels Bala’s portrayal has a bit of an exaggeration. Some of the dialogues she mouths are interesting. Thol colourayum moonji um pathu emanthu, ‘Hi, how are you, very nice nu pesina, Sangarthuruven' (Don’t get fooled by my fair skin color and face and try to woo me. I will slit your throat). There’s yet another dialogue she says while interrogating a big shot. ‘Kovilum kuppai medum engalukku onnu thaan’ (Temple and garbage yard are alike to us when we probe).

But, why does Naachiyaar and other higher police officers call their subordinates in a singular manner as ‘Nee, Vaa , Po’ which is actually considered as disrespect.

Also read: Suriya and Jyothika visit Nivin’s shooting set

GV Prakash is a revelation, and here he proves his mettle as a performer. The actor nails his expressions, and shines in the climax when he questions Jyothika’s stand and takes an unexpected and sensible decision for his love of the girl. Newcomer Ivana is equally impressive, and she scores be it romantic or emotional scenes. Producer Rockline Venkatesh and popular surgeon Dr. Gurushankar make their acting debut and have given an admirable performance.

There’s only one song (rather half-song) in the movie, and Ilayaraja’s background score aids the narration. Theni Eshwar’s cinematography is adequate. The biggest advantage is its crisp runtime of 100 minutes. Overall, a film that’s watchable once.