Director: Caarthick Raju
Cast: Dinesh, Nandita, Balasaravanan, Dhilip Subbarayan
'Ulkuthu' is the second outing of Caarthick Raju after his impressive 'Thirudan Police'. Though the story treads in the routine path of revenge and retribution, what makes the film watchable is the way Caarthick has presented it with twists and in the fresh backdrop of a coastal town where majority of the shooting takes place.
Raja (Dinesh) arrives at a coastal hamlet where he meets Sura Shankar (Balasaravanan), who works in the fish market and claims as a market dada. Raja tells Sura that he is a MBA graduate and has walked out of his house as he doesn’t get along with his rich dad. Sura quickly calculates that Raja will be a good match for his sister Kadalarasi (Nandita) and hence befriends him.
Raja locks horns with Saravanan (Dhilip Subbarayan), son of Kaka Mani (Sharat Lohitashwa) – both of whom are thugs and loan sharks, and eventually kills him. Sura and Kadalarasi get the shock of their lives as they aren’t accustomed to such murderous behavior. It’s time for Raja to justify his act to Kadalarasi, narrated chiefly through flashbacks.
Dinesh has the same expression on his face be it happiness, sadness or vengeance. Though he gave a striking feat in Visaaranai, he seems have not gotten out of his Cuckoo relic. Stunt choreographer Dhilip Subbrayan has given a laudable performance as the hotheaded baddie and he is also responsible for staging action sequences, which are first class. Balasaravanan’s comedy to some extent is enjoyable. Beyond a point the punch line often uttered by him - ‘Sura Shankar-na Summa vaa’ is irksome. Nandita has nothing much to do. Sharat Lohitashwa is adequate. John Vijay, Sriman do their parts well and Chaya Singh is also there in an extended cameo. Just when you think the story is traveling in a clichéd manner, Caarthik injects a spin and turns things upside down. Justin Prabhakaran’s music elevates the proceedings and PK Varma’s cinematography is good especially the aerial view of the coastal areas.
