Sutta Kadhai Review - Tries Too Hard To Be Funny

By Bharath Vijayakumar

Novel attempts with interesting storylines seem to be on the increase in Tamil cinema and dark humour seems to be the flavour of the season. The trailer of Sutta Kadhai definitely caught one's attention and raised expectations among a section of the audience who are on the lookout for offbeat ventures.

Plot:

It is about a series of misadventures of two young and gullible constables.  One of them is a kleptomaniac and the other suffers from partial hearing impairment. They get posted in Koramalai, a forest area whose inhabitants are quirky to say the least. Unknowingly they get involved in a murder and as they try to get away from it they actually end up in solving a case.

Cast and Crew:

The cast of Sutta Kadhai is adequate. While that is a good thing the fact that no one actually catches your attention is a definite downer. It is good to see artistes like Nasser and Jayaprakash who are consistently lending their support by being a part of small time yet innovative films.

Music by the band Madley Blues does strike a chord. The 'Yele Yele' song stands out because of MSV's voice that continues to spell magic. Nizar's cinematography lends clarity to the proceedings even with many scenes happening during the night.

What works and what does not?

The innovative opening credits with funny disclaimers hooks you up right away. The initial 15 minutes are promising only to lose steam very soon. Despite the director cleverly claiming that Koramali is a fictitious place, the basic premise itself seems too far fetched. While utmost care has been taken to make sure that almost every frame is different the all important aspect of holding the interest of the audience has gone for a toss. The last segment of the film is packed with twists after twists. But they hardly make you sit up. For such twists to work the characters that bring about them should already be known to the audience. But in Sutta Kadhai they are introduced only at the time of revealing the twists. The debutant director is definitely full of bright ideas. But most of them is lost in translation and even the some that click  are overdone to the hilt. 'The Saambasivam Comics' which is the source of inspiration for the film's two leading men  is one such idea. While it seems novel upfront, it exasperates you towards the second half. A simple scene which shows that the education minister is an illiterate through his thumb impression in his letter pad is able to bring a smile on your face. So is another scene where an obese man confirms with his daughter whether he has worn his belt as his tummy blocks his view!! But as the movie progresses it tries desperately to be funny and tests your patience. And that is not a good sign when the running time of the movie is actually less than two hours.

Bottomline:

Debutant Subu's intentions need to be encouraged. But it does seem that many jokes that might have sounded good on paper have been lost in translation to the big screen.

Verdict: 2.25/5