Sathru Review

Sathru Review: A Timepass Watch With A Few Good Moments

The premise

Young actor Kathir has scored a career-turning hit with Pariyerum Perumal where he also delivered his career-best performance as a youngster from under-privileged caste with the big aim of standing up for his people by educating himself. Now, he has taken up the challenge of a more commercial cinema and portrayed the role of a sincere and upright cop in Sathru. Let's dive into the details and check if he continued his new-found success with Sathru review. 

The story

Kathiresan (it seems to be the favorite name among the Tamil directors to christen their powerful heroes) is a hot-headed young police officer with both brains and brawn in equal measure. He both beats the shit out of the goons and think later and does vice versa. In his short career of about two years, like all good cops should, gets suspended twice. 

Once a little girl is kidnapped by a gang of criminals who have nothing but big bucks on the mind to settle down. But our hero interferes and despite repeated warnings and chiding from his superior officer, he takes the matter right into his hands and rescues the girl. But in the process, he accidentally kills the physically challenged gang member which leads to the grief of the gang. 

The gang leader then vows to teach a lesson to our hero and like all self-respecting dreaded gangsters/villains, to dispose of all the family members of our hero. How and if Kathiresan protects his family form the rest of the story. 

The cast

Kathir did well enough to get pass marks as a mass hero but he failed to pack a punch as a ferocious cop. The stunt scenes are okayish but it is in the louder emotions he paled. Otherwise, he did a fine job. As there isn't much romantic thread with the heroine and we come directly into the story, we may feel a bit routineness in his characterization even in a routine story.

Srushti Dange is good in a limited role. And as there are no songs, her screen time is too small. It's like an extended cameo. Laguparan is terrific as the menacing villain. It is a memorable outing for him. Rest of the cast did as their roles demanded. Ponnavan as the protagonist's father also makes his presence felt. 

Writing and direction

The direction of the movie is adequate. The screenplay is sluggish in the second half. The narration fails to capture the emotions properly. The first half has it all easy peasy for the hero and the entire second half witness him just reacting to the villain's machinations. But the final 20 minutes are quite engaging. 

The crew

The music is okayish. The background score is decent and followed the genre conventions. The cinematography is good. The editing could have been better. The production values are average. All in all, Sathru is an okayish production. But on a positive note, it doesn't look cheapish. 

Finally

With the hero's role established quickly and his immediate relations shown at the earliest, Sathru doesn't feel like beating around the bush. The narration appears to move at a fast pace. But the second ha;f is sluggish and the passive characterization of the hero in the second half makes it a bit boring. But it gets sorted out in the end though. A one-time timepass watch if you have no other options (including a good day's sleep). 

Positives

• Hero's characterization
• Story moves at a relatively high pace
• Menacing villain

Negatives

• Routine narration
• Sluggish second half

Pycker Rating: 2.25 out of 5