by Malini Mannath
Director- J.Parthiban
Cast- Srikanth, Raai Laxmi, Dev Gill,Naira Shah, Black Pandi, Vaishnavi Chandran Drawing an analogy between animals and humans, director Parthiban pitches in two antagonists to create havoc in the lives of humans. One a man-eating tiger pouncing on unsuspecting humans, the other a serial killer targeting wealthy single mothers. An ambitious canvas for a debutant maker (worked with Bala), the director makes a valiant but futile attempt to integrate the two.
The two subplots travel on parallel tracks till they converge towards the latter part. While the tiger is hunted by the forest officers, the killer has the cops at his heels. Changing his name and identity the killer’s (Srikanth) modus operandi was to insinuate himself into families with no fathers a la ‘The Stepfather’. And when discovered, ruthlessly eliminate them. This time his target was Lakshmi a plantation owner and a single parent (Raai Laxmi). Posing as Aravind and earning her trust and marrying her, it’s what happens when his identity is discovered.
The director just about manages to keep the proceedings fairly watchable in the first half. The latter part turns into a farce making a mockery of one’s sensibilities. The whole episode of Vijay a cop (Gill) and his trying to save Lakshmi ,is a listless one.
The women here seem to be a non-thinking lot, their actions helping the killer to destroy proofs against him easily. There is a lot of unintended humour as the tiger let loose in the mansion, prowls around in search of Lakshmi, her baby and her younger sister. It seemed more like the trio were playing hide and seek with a pet animal. In such a situation, the actors are hardly able to leave any impact. The CG of the tiger in action could have been better designed. The director however has managed to put his point across. That, an animal will only kill for food or if provoked. But man is more dangerous as he kills for his own selfish ends.
‘Mirugaa’ (130 minutes) is not one of those films that was awaited with great anticipation. So there is no great disappointment either. It is at the most a stepping stone for a debutant maker, who needs to brush up his skills before he ventures on to his next film.
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