Kolaiyuthir Kaalam Tamil Movie

Feature Film | 2019 | UA | Horror, Thriller | 1h 49min
Critics:
The film was uncooked and remained disengaged throughout. It was a tedious watch even with a length of 108 minutes, mainly due to a hollow script!
Aug 11, 2019 By Baranidharan Sivasankaran

Where To Watch:
Streaming:
   Amazon Prime

The posters and teaser of 'Kolaiyuthir Kaalam' were quite intriguing as it gave a luxurious appeal as the entire movie is set in Sussex in a huge mansion. For a thriller, the setting plays a huge role in determining whether the chills would work or not. On that count, it was a new setting for Kollywood. We've had movies like 'Aval' set in hill stations, but this one is in Sussex.


Then, it had Nayanthara who has had a mixed record with thrillers and dissipated a few hopes. I stayed positive only on these counts as director Chakri Toleti was not an accountable name when it comes to delivering stuff.


The movie, as mentioned, is set in Sussex, one of the English counties. Shruthi (Nayanthara), a deaf and mute orphan, inherits the right to manage a huge wealth and property from her foster mother who adopted her at a young age. She moves to her ancestor's mansion in Sussex. On a typical night, things start to get gory as the housemates get massacred at the hands of a masked man. He comes for Shruti, and he is after her for a reason. No prizes for guessing the reason! Finally, we witness a thankless twist!


Mired in financial issues, the movie had various release dates in the past and finally saw the light of the day. Even on the day I went and watched, there were KDM (key delivery message) issues which could be related to its financial woes. That shows very much on screen, in its making. Firstly, the movie looked like a film school project. The credits (which was strangely in English only) had a bunch of English names. Only the actors seem to be Indian.


The script was not half-cooked but uncooked, with insipidly staged scenes. Notably, the connection of Nayanthara with her foster mom had scenes which seem to be cut out from the 80s. Even the present-day scenes had hardly anything interesting. E.g., the granny (Rohini Hattangadi) of the house mocks her brother's (Prathap Pothen) driving skills. Once he gets killed and made to go with the car, she witnesses it from a distance and yaps again about his driving skills. What should one make of this connection?


Then, the killer butchers everyone in the house. The slaying of the granny was shocking when he struck first. Then, when he keeps on piercing her through the skin, it becomes a mockery. And then, when Nayanthara runs for her life and goes from room to room, we feel tired. We are always left with suspecting the killer, while all characters get butchered at some point. At the end, when the real killer behind all the murder gets revealed, we feel relieved as the torture on screen is over.


For a movie that is just over 100 minutes in length and still makes us feel relieved, the screenplay had to be too bad and disengaging. In the middle of the proceedings, especially post-interval, the director didn't know what to do. He keeps shuffling Nayanthara from room to room and has her weep from frame to frame.


The movie was a vile mess that had hardly anything going for it. If I were to pick one worthy thing, then that should be the sound department that managed to provide a few jerks at times. Otherwise, the movie made one feel that it was better off staying in the cans rather than releasing.

Baranidharan Sivasankaran

   

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