Kaakhi Sattai (Kaakhi uniform) - In Mufti!

Is Sivakarthikeyan seriously into “method acting”? When I mention “method acting” it has to be taken in the context of formulaic Tamil mass cinema, where there exists an unofficial Kollywood template or in other words a proven “method” to knock the doors of stardom. It traces the evolutionary stages of an actor when he starts out with some humbly written roles, gathers mileage with some boy-next-door roles, then tries his hand at romance and a smatter of action, then takes a dig at mass roles where the good triumphs over evil and finally tries to consolidate his position with an action based “cop movie” that typically seals the deal. This unofficial Kollywood template seems to have garnered much success with many stars in the past who have been featured as a cop at least once in their career. Likewise for Sivakarthikeyan it is nothing but a natural progression in his career, even though it has come in a bit too early.

Director Durai Senthilkumar who has already got a hit under his name (Ethir Neechal) and that too with Sivakarthikeyan, would have been a natural choice to be at the helm of things or to “direct” this movie per se. The script is a no-brainer. Obviously with the title bearing the tell-tale signs of an action based cop story, this one is about how a constable associated with the crime department cuts loose and takes an organ trafficking mafia (the same sinister crime is appearing second time for the month after ‘Yennai Arinthaal’) by their horns and delivers the society from all evils possible. The story obviously doesn’t delve into why a constable is given supreme powers but on how he goes about cleansing the society by eliminating the wrongdoers and setting goons into orbits every now and then when there is an action block.

Obviously the movie is a gate pass for Sivakarthikeyan to enter the “sanctum sanctorum” of Kollywood where aspiring stars were either made or done and dusted. So the movie packs a lot of punch but with utmost care so that things don't go overboard. No doubt that Siva wants to blow his trumpet loud and clear, but every time he is tempted to do so, he does it with an element of caution. For e.g. Siva’s introduction scene was a standard fare for any cop movie - there was a slo-mo feet-first face-next introduction, punch dialogs and a bunch of slickly edited shots. But everything vanishes in a few seconds when it is revealed that its just a dream by an aspiring constable. In the scene towards the climax, that element of caution was however broken when Siva’s mom places Siva’s photo frame with a cop’s uniform next to Suriya’s and Rajini’s even when Siva’s sister comments that its a little overboard. So we get a lot of these stereotypes that makes the viewer believe that Siva has his foot firmly grounded, but at the same time the ultimatum has been achieved and the message has been sent out loud and clear … “I am going to be the one… from now on!”.

Surprisingly there was no glamour - in spirit, Sridivya as the female lead has carried over her role from ‘Varuthapadaatha Vaalibar Sangam’. That said, there were songs - a couple of them had an urbane appeal with one among them shot in foreign locales and another song had a rural flavor to it - so the 360 degree coverage among the mass audiences is covered and that checkbox was also ticked. Another surprising aspect about the female lead was that she accompanies Siva even while he is investigating and helps in the investigation process. Her roles is quite subtly woven in crime scenes - the director deserves quite a pat for retaining the sanctity of a female lead’s character by not merely making her look like a made for romance doll! Imman Annachi in the comedy department was just a support to lean on as Siva himself took the trouble to tickle us with some timely and “family friendly” comic lines. Vijay Raaz as the villain was subtle and lowbrow but came into the act like a cold hammer whenever needed.

Anirudh’s music was largely fine but the BGM bore his signature psychedelic drag which made it a creepy one instead of bringing in the uber-coolness that the narrative craved for. Editing and cinematography were just about fine for this piece of mass masala.

The movie is a time-pass entertainer that doesn't allow you to wander from the narrative for most of the time but while leaving the theater if we were asked that anyone with some screen presence who is allowed to tick all the check-marks of a masala movie to market himself as a saleable star, then I suppose there might be some shrugged shoulders.

Verdict: Worth a Watch!

Rating: 2.5 / 5