Marainthirunthu Paarkum Marmam Enna review: Gritty start derailed by clichéd turn
Director: Rahesh
Cast: Dhruva, Aishwarya Dutta, Saranya Ponvannan, JD Chakravarthy, Mime Gopi
The movie starts off with intriguing sequences when a gang of chain-snatching criminals headed by Mattai Mani (Mime Gopi) and his henchman Jilakki (Rams) creates havoc in the city by killing a few women and severely injuring many with their ruthless acts. During one such operation, a stranger with a facemask runs away snatching the jewels from Jilakki. A hunt is on for him, and he is finally caught. We are introduced to Jappan (Dhruva) who says he is an orphan. Impressed with his clever ways, Mattai takes him under his fold, and trains him to become a professional chain-snatcher. All goes well, until one day, when Jappan’s attempt to snatch a chain from a lady, who happens to be a cop’s wife, goes haywire. And there’s a witness to his act — Bharathi (Aishwarya Dutta), an aspiring cop. Enter upright cop Dilip Chakravarthy (JD Chakravarthy), who has been entrusted with the job of encountering the chain-snatching criminals. The rest of the film reveals the backstory of Jappan and his real motive behind joining the chain-snatching gang.
Inspired by real-life incidents of chain-snatching, which is on an increase in the city, the director has extensively detailed these organized urban crimes and their modus operandi. How they choose their targets, the place of operation and how their psyche works, how these robbed jewels are then converted into gold bars, and how this exposes the owners of jewellery stores, who buy back these stolen goods to make huge profits, forms the crux of the film.
Dhruva performs well as the gas delivery boy Ayyapan, who revolts when his mother (Saranya Ponvannan) and wife (Anjana) became victims of chain-snatching. He is equally impressive in action scenes. Between the two girls, Anjana has a better role. The ever-dependable Saranya repeats her doting mother act. Mime Gopi and Ram are menacing. Others like Radha Ravi, Valavan, and Aruldas are adequate. Some of the dialogues are hard-hitting.
The film reminds us of yet another well-made movie 'Metro', which had a similar chain-snatching plot. However, director Rahesh has made an honest attempt with his original ideas. On the downside, what starts off in a gritty manner loses steam post interval, with the film treading in a clichéd path. Muthiah’s cinematography is topnotch and travels along the mood of the film. Achu’s rerecording is at times too loud. Had the director concentrated more on a taut screenplay, it would have made all the difference.
