Kurukku Movie Review
Kurukku: An Investigative Thriller Undermined by Inconsistent Execution
Abhijith Noorani's debut film "Kurukku" starts with an intriguing premise of a twin murder mystery but falters in execution due to lackluster performances and a sloppily narrated screenplay.Written and directed by debutant Abhijith Noorani, 'Kurukku' is an investigative thriller based on twin murder in an apartment complex. On the thriller front, the director's screenplay has decent scope to ramp up the grip in the tale which has all the trappings of the genre. Sloppiness in the narration crops up frequently, hindering the intriguing question of 'whodunit?' Adding to this is the uninspiring performances that take a backseat and struggle to support Abhijith's effort to maintain the movie's flow in narration. The interrogation scenes involving Circle Inspector Sajan, played by Anil Anto, are rather contrived and lack originality in quite a few areas.
The film begins with the return of George (Subin Tarzan), a techie, to his apartment complex after a scuffle amidst the boozing party in a club. In the drug-induced state, George witnesses the murder of Rubin (Ajayaghosh), who is residing next to his flat. But he fails to realise the gravity of the situation. Next morning, the corpse of Rubin is found on the roadside while his wife Sneha (Preetha Pradeep) is found dead in the flat.
Circle Inspector Sajan investigates the case and George is arrested as CCTV visuals point to his presence in the apartment of Rubin and Sneha. From the visuals, Sajan realises that the real culprit is on the loose and it becomes his arduous task to nab the perpetrators. In these areas, 'Kurukku' succeeds in keeping viewers guessing about the possible angles of the tale. Though a tad dramatic, Anil Anto creates an impact in the lead role but the co-stars are struggling to enhance the plot with neat performances.
Sajan feels the pressure from his superior officers ACP John (Aseem Ibrahim) and DGP Ramdas (Balaji Sarma). These perfunctory sequences only appear as a mechanical exercise of shouting at a subordinate officer in the process of delay in finding the killers. In the latter half, while Sajan unfurls the chords of mystery, the film should have become riveting but the melodramatic impact from actors sullies the viewing experience. The flick is panting for an insightful handling of the theme to make the events astounding on par with the intention of the script.
There are glimpses of amateurish shades in the treatment and the suspense in the climax is devoid of exquisite punch. Most of the visuals are in tune with the pace of the tale by taking a cue from movies of this genre. 'Kurukku' has its intriguing moments in the initial stages but that tempo is volatile in the subsequent proceedings. It has loftier ambitions regarding the suspense factor in the climax which would have created a better impact with an effective performance. Despite its quasi-decent script, the film largely fails to extract better performances from the relatively novice cast.
