Kavan Tamil Movie
KV Anand's directorial zone straddles between Shankar's ability to think big on social issues and Hari's insane pace at moving forth a screenplay. Though he does not do justice to either of them, he would manage to dish out something out of sheer momentum. To put it in a nutshell, it is like watching Shahid Afridi bat at the tail end of his innings - either it's a hit or a miss! Let's see how this innings of his has panned out this time!
'Kavan' exposes the ugly side of the media, the ones that function purely based on hiking up TRP by sensationalising issues and 'unethical' journalism. Now there is a set of 'ethical' journos with the likes of Vijay Sethupathy, TR and company who fight the bad ones and cleanse the society. Of course, there is a juicy plot involving a crude and wicked politician who runs a factory that churns out environmentally harmful chemicals and a social activist fighting against it.
So all the checkboxes for a KV Anand - Subha (writer duo) combination have been ticked in terms of a fictitious plot, saleable stars are on board, there are comic and sentimental elements and some foot tapping music. In other words, there is a box-office winner.
Still, the screenplay had to be tight with noteworthy performances. KV Anand has done a decent job at plotting the twists and allowing the characters to mouth dialogues that not only evokes sensation but sounds sensible - an essential ingredient, especially for a movie that is based on journalism.
TR is another pillar of strength for the movie. Though his acts on screen seem to be staged, his charisma and ability to dish out sonnets at the drop of a hat have been leveraged to the fullest. Also, an episode with Power Star is a noteworthy mention for an entertaining plot.
Villains Akashdeep and Bose Venkat were standard fare, with evil and wickedness blended in humungous proportions. Madonna Sebastian as the bubbly and sensible journo had a meaty role where she was allowed to roam around for the entire length of the movie along with Vijay Sethupathy mouthing 'coconut-oil' dipped Tamil dialogues. It was sweet!
Vijay Sethupathy was as usual in his elements, underplaying when needed and over-the-top when called for. His role as that of a typical action hero for a KV Anand film was justified with a masculine persona and a natural performance.
Music and BGM by Hip-Hop Adhi were above average, with 'Oxygen' being the pick of the album. Cinematography kept up with the movie's pace and was easy on the eyes. Anthony's editing also helped with the pace and added to the tightness in the narration.
On the downside, the movie lacked logic and added over-the-top cinematic flavours at many instances. Raising a downtrodden TV channel to a sensational one within a short time span with a handful of enthusiastic young journos sounds really optimistic, but takes us back to the 'Suriya Vamsam' days. As I mentioned before, things like these have been heavily shielded with a pacy screenplay and sensational narrative.
Though a movie on unethical journalism is nothing new to Tamil cinema (Vanchinathan, the 2001 Vijayakanth movie), it has been perfectly scripted by Subha and executed by KV Anand's team with a lot of masala and glamour for a broader audience and a greater box-office appeal.
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