Kurangu Bommai Review - A competent crime drama!

Bharath Vijayakumar

Debutant Nithilan's Kurangu Bommai is a thriller on the surface. It is about a few people racing against time to get their hands on a bag that is supposedly stacked with cash. But beyond the suspense Nithilan wants us to be emotional by placing characters who are extremely nice in precarious situations.

The first scene introduces us to the most interesting character of the film Ekambaram (Thenappan is terrific). There is no background score here and we are about to witness a murder. There is a palpable tension all around. Ekambaram is about to kill a policeman. His aide requests him to forgive the policeman as he believes he is an honest constable. Ekambaram relents for a moment and asks the policeman if he would join him. His reply and the subsequent outcome could be dark humour to a few. But Nithilan I would believe is more interested in getting us accustomed to a few chilling scenes that the movie has in store.

Bharathiraja's name comes first in the credits and the film does revolve around him. He plays an extremely emotional character ( Sundaram ), someone who looks like he might breakdown at any point. There is this scene involving him towards the end that could leave you a little disturbed. Melodrama does seep in here as this particular scene reaches its climax. The lead up to here is extremely chilling but the dialogues and the interaction between Bharathiraja ( Sundaram )and Kumaravel (Sekar)at this point left me undecided. Would they really converse the way they did or was the maker a little desperate in trying to get us all emotional ? Also how could someone as ruthless and calculated as Ekambaram take such a misstep? These small contrivances are what hamper the seamlessness of the film.

The acting all round is pretty good and Vidharth silently continues to be a part of films that are able to stand out from the crowd. The comedy works at most places but also seems a bit juvenile at times. This is one of those films that left me feeling that it has done so many things right and yet something is missing. 

Bottomline:

A disturbing crime drama that is right on the money for the most part.

Rating: 3.25/5