Sivakarthikeyan is the leader of the student movement Anti-Hindi imposition. He puts out the fire after the death of his close friend who was part of the struggle, the series of events that reignites his cause forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction: The imagery voice-over at the beginning clearly establishes the crux of the film, and when Sivakarthikeyan saves the lives of a North Indian family in the opening scene, it beautifully clarifies that the idea is not against the Hindi language, but Anti-Hindi imposition. The seed of the story is conveyed well at first, but so much time is wasted after that. Of course, the screenplay would have felt very dry without the Sreeleela portions, but cannot bypass the fact that her scenes in the first half were silly. The romantic stretches are not pointless, both the arcs of Sreeleela being stammered mouth in front of the mic and Sivakarthikeyan playfully learning Hindi for work do connect in the later stages, but goes impactless as their love track dilutes the intention. The pre-interval block is solid with the hero back in action, the sequence was well staged with enough drama and skilfully executed too. The flow carries so many powerful dialogues throughout that elevate the content. The whole film is about the good points hiding the flaws, the second half travels in the same notion. After a small hiccup post interval with a melody song, there is a steady focus towards the subject. However the emotions fall flat as the struggles, riots and Police brutality become repetitive… as in there is no impact in any of the deaths. The brotherly bond of Sivakarthikeyan and Atharvaa is also left half-baked amidst other things. There are many memorable moments in the film, the Delhi episode stands out. Lengthy climax that is powered by a striking thought, lands well despite the dragged lathi-charges, etc. The presence of our former respected leaders Anna played by Chetan and Karunanidhi played by Guru Somasundaram added so much value to the clap-worthy factor. Kudos to Sudha Kongara for bringing a gutsy chapter from the history of Tamil Nadu to the big screens, her team’s research work is evident, however the scripting and characterizations need more detailing and power.

Performances: Yet another feather-in-the-cap role for Sivakarthikeyan, he has played it perfectly both physically and by showcasing his verbal strength. Atharvaa’s characterization is relatable and his natural acting makes it memorable. Ravi Mohan plays a baddie for the first time, a single-dimensional role with no satisfying backdrop, his performance also feels forced like he is constantly trying to prove a point. It was promoted that this film would bring Sreeleela’s acting talent, but not much difference in the film at least for the majority of her scenes, same usual clichéd heroine role except for the last act. Rana Daggubati’s cameo is a wasted opportunity, he appears and utters a few fun lines, then poorly dies in the next scene with no viewer to care for. Basil Joseph’s cameo is one of major high points towards the end of the film.

Technicalities: Adi Alaye sounds so pleasant, except for that the songs are just passable and the supposed to be fiery tracks with sensitive lyrics didn’t really fire. The background score blended well along with the flow and musically improvised the situations. Splendid camera work by Ravi K.Chandran, he exactly knows when to use static cameras and when to shift to hand-held to build the tension, apt colour palette and the man has truly taken us back to the 1960s with a great support from the art department. Production quality must be appreciated too, this much authenticity in output is impossible without the huge investment. There are lags and dry spots in both the halves, yet the overall editing seemed to be seamless with smooth transitions between the scenes. Stunt choreography is a mixed bag, the crowd activities are realistically presented, but the face-off fight sequences between Ravi Mohan and Sivakarthikeyan are not punchy enough.

Verdict: There is a natural connect with the subject that deals with the sensitive Anti-Hindi imposition. But the narration needed more spice to be commercially viable, if only Ravi Mohan’s villain character was as powerful as the protagonist Sivakarthikeyan.

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Rating - 3/ 5.