Rajini Murugan Tamil Movie
Director Ponram of Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam fame is back in yet another comedy drama with Sivakarthikeyan. Though there is no one here to match the striking charisma of Sathyaraj in VVS, Sivakarthikeyan shoulders the film along with Soori to bring the roof down at regular intervals. And, it works. The pop-culture references, hero worshipping and the wry humor - all work perfectly in a template commercial story that has a blend of everything including romance, comedy, action and sentiment.
Once again the combination presents the moviegoers an enjoyable family drama. The duo Sivakarthikeyan and Soori are two jobless buddies from childhood and partners in crime. Sivakarthikeyan meets Keerthy Suresh and immediately falls for her. In an attempt to win her love, he starts a tea shop right opposite to Keerthy's house. But Keerthy doesn't pay heed to Siva's amorous advances since her father and Siva's father were close friends who are now estranged after a silly brawl.
But, the film really picks up only after the entry of Samuthirakani, who plays the role of Ezharai Mookkan with superb panache and great dialogue delivery. The confrontational scenes between Sivakarthikeyan and Samuthirakani don't fire enough sparks as one would expect. They are mostly dialogue-based and Ponram has played it really safe without any exaggerating dialogues for the protagonist to elevate his hero image. Samuthirakani is portrayed in a respectful role though the way his character meets its fate is underwhelming.
Keerthy Suresh does justice to her character as a proper mid-town girl. Loud mouthed at times, subtle expressions and 'own dubbing' (a rarity for heroines from other states in Tamil cinema) make her one of the very good female lead choices.
The standout factor of Rajini Murugan is Siva - Soori's onscreen bromance. It leaves the audience in splits and resurrects the momentum whenever there is a dull moment. Soori's counter dialogues and Siva's underplay and a little bit of role reversal on certain occasions cohere beautifully producing a seamless comedy entertainer. The only downside is the lengthy second half. The film should have been trimmed by at least 20 odd minutes. The second half is loaded with songs and it surely tests our patience to death.
On the whole, Rajini Murugan is a good family entertainer and a perfect festival outing if you watch it without much expectation.
MOVIE REVIEWS