RJ Balaji’s Parthiban, a food stall owner, is sent to jail in a fabricated case. Stuck in a hopeless world populated by people with different motives, the film sleekly explores if he ever finds his way back. Where the film struggles though is when it introduces too many characters within the prison. Just like how Parthi is suddenly thrown into this world, everything seems to unfold very haphazardly. However, even when the screenplay is meandering, each of these character bring something unique which makes them real and drives you to care for them.
For example, when Bashir, an old man, explains what 35 years of prison life does to someone, it immediately reminds you of Red from The Shawshank Redemption and how he fears life outside. Likewise, you meet a few innocent people who are wrongfully accused and have gradually lost a sense of reality. There is also Kendrick (Samuel Robinson), who finds peace in reading the Bible and praying to Jesus, and then there is Siga (a brilliant Selvaraghavan) who sees Jesus in the kind-hearted Kendrick. Even when the film loses its focus in a few places, especially towards the end, you still care about such characters and worry about how things will turn out to be.
In retrospect, all characters are one-note but this could be intentional. You don’t know them, their intentions, crimes, or how they have evolved over the years. For instance, Selvaraghavan’s Siga is the king of this prison but regrets his mistakes. RJ Balaji has lost his future and is desperate to find a way out. Kendrick is not innocent but isn’t a criminal either. Bashir is an old man in the prison who tries to be ethically right. And these one-liners are the only dose of details you get. While this could be our concern, the one-note characterizations are impactful and the fact that we don’t know a lot about them helps with the guesswork and suspense the film builds up.
The cast too adds a lot of value to the film with Selvaraghavan playing a gangster who wants to turn a new leaf but is getting pulled back to the weapon world and RJ Balaji shedding his usual comical self to give us a man who approaches life with a serious plan. RJ Balaji shows his acting chops whenever Parthi desperately rises to action or burns with rage, but when it comes to his hopeless cries, you sometimes find it a little monotonous. The film also gets major help from the technical side with both composer Christo Xavier and cinematographer Prince Anderson taking us through the rough worlds of the prison through the hitting background scores and images that are devoid of colors and hope.
When the film ends, you still don’t know much about these characters and are unaware of what exactly happened in the prison. You are left with a lot to introspect. Who do you feel bad for? Who do you think is right or wrong? And then Kattabomman’s (Karunaas) words of choosing between being a servant in heaven and a king in hell rings loud in your ears. Not because you are trying to choose one but because the film efficiently shows how circumstances throw you into such a space where you have to keep choosing between two such extreme things that will change your path. And you process the hard reality of it all as the credits roll.
Rating – 3/5
