Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru Tamil Movie

D-16, a touted thriller, had many things going for it including rich technicalities, barring a few cribs for a more logical plot and better performances from the supporting cast. Jan 1, 2017 By Baranidharan S

Dhuruvangal 16, the movie released without much buzz, slowly gathered some good word of mouth, thanks to social media. The movie's crew seem to be too young and the average age should be between 25 to 30 years. It has definitely helped in translating this movie into a fresh piece of narrative. But was there a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth?

The movie is an investigative thriller, where a cop (played by Rahman) is asked to recollect about a particular case that made him lose a limb. As he recollects the case, we, as an audience are also immersed into the proceedings and made to roam amongst the ones who experienced the horror. Till the end, the real killer was kept under wraps, and once revealed, one looks at the not-so-logical plot that had so many things thrust into it just for the sake of adding suspense elements as pseudo-layers!

The movie's length of just over 100 minutes was its biggest strength. Though the plot took its gentle lapses to unwind, there was an underlying tension which was maintained throughout with realistic screenplay, not only aided by stabbings or blood and gore, but sometimes with black comedy and farce (sample the scene where a character named Mano whines while being accused of eve teasing, "How can there be only one Mano in my entire locality?").

Also, technicalities like cinematography, editing and surreal BGM keep things tight and eerie for the most part. I ought to comment on the cinematography and editing techniques - Sujith and Sreejith, the "Sarang" brothers who have risen to fame from short films have done a good job, but I would have liked a much more subtle treatment. Certain scenes emphasised the cinematography more than the substance of the scene. While appreciating the long shots which were shot handheld, I should also point out the unnecessary jerks that was disturbing and interfered with the visual experience. Hope these rough edges would be smoothened in their upcoming projects.

Rahman, one of the finest actors, who has been making a Kollywood visit once in a blue moon, has got a meaty role wherein he has carried the movie on his shoulders like a work horse. The others in the cast are new and just about managed to put up a stale show.

The biggest setback of the movie was the hazy narrative towards the climax wherein one would lose the sense of why a particular character acts in a weird way (constable Gautham) and why would Rahman's character keep the proceedings under wraps until the climax. I haven't figured out reasons for the same. But nevertheless, this movie was a decent attempt at etching out an edge of the seat thriller as far as its making goes!