Sketch Tamil Movie
While watching Sketch, my mind was time-travelling 18 years back when Vikram as 'Chiyaan' and Sriman as his childhood friend shared one of the most natural friendships portrayed on screen in director Bala's debut, "Sethu" (1999).
That was also the movie that gave Vikram his first substantial hit along with the catchy moniker, "Chiyaan". In this movie too, Vikram and Sriman share a similar friendship, but the problem is that they both are in their 50s and yet Vikram didn't have qualms to romance a heroine who is almost half his age! That's one of the many issues with "Sketch".
A Vikram film being full-on action has failed miserably in recent times. It all started with 'Rajapattai', then 'Thaandavam', followed by '10 Endrathukulla', 'Irumugan' and now it's "Sketch". He has become the Liam Neeson of Kollywood - a terrific actor who is seriously struggling to choose a proper script. Why can't he play a leading man in his late 40s? Especially when today's audiences who are eager at welcoming novel attempts, the platform can't get any better for a performer like Vikram!
Coming to the plot - a local goon, who goes by the moniker Sketch (Vikram), works at a mechanic shop and is being used by its owner to confiscate vehicles from their respective owners who don't pay their dues. He gets involved in a tangle where the deadly villain's ego gets quashed. Conflicts ensue, his friends and cronies get butchered and Sketch survives at the end to realize that the real killers are the least suspected ones.
This was yet another plot which could have done without a heroine and it was not meant for an actor like Vikram either. This one could have been easily pulled off with a much younger guy. Tamanna clearly showed signs of ageing and her mannequin clad skin tone made her look paler. In fact, Tamanna's friend (Sri Priyanka) looked much younger and beautiful. After a certain point, the audiences started booing for the romantic scenes between the lead pair, as the dialogues came across hollow and empty.
The villain who was showcased as a deadly goon was reduced to a joke when he single-handedly attempts to pull off a drug deal. The silver lining was that at the end, the way in which he gets executed with a "sketch" was somewhat whistle-worthy. Also, the twist at the end was quite surprising, but when we get into the details, it was somewhat naive. The director finishing off things with a message on child labour was an absolute deviation from the mood of the movie.
Thaman's music was average with "Cheeni Chillaale" being the number that is hummable.
Director Vijay Chander has been too careless with the plot and also with the choice of actors. The result is a 2 hour long and naive session with an actor whom we've loved watching in memorable roles in the past being subjected to an abusive plot that makes him helplessly baffle around!
Disappointing!!
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