Kolai Movie Review

The title of the movie itself makes it clear about its genre! A murder happens. The story revolves around presenting why the murder, who organized it and who did it!

Director Balaji K Kumar made a movie 10 years ago, titled, ‘Vidiyum mun’ has come up again with another movie in the crime thriller genre with the movie ‘Kolai’.

The production, the settings, the angles of shooting, the enquiry, the re-recording, and the background music all with their efficient contributions make it worth talking about the movie ‘Kolai’!

A popular playback singer, Meenakshi Chaudhary is murdered in her apartment. Police Officer Rithika Singh conducts the enquiry on the murder. She takes the erstwhile police officer Vijay Antony for assistance in the enquiry.

Meenakshi’s friend, Siddhartha Sankar, the model Photographer Arjun Chidambaram, Model Agent Murali Sharma, and Kishore Kumar who claims to be Meenakshi’s manager are all in the suspected lot.

Whether one of these committed the murder or somebody else did it is unravelled by Vijay Antony and Rithika Singh forms the rest of the film?

In spite of the fact that he has separated from his wife and that his daughter is fighting for her life, Vijay Antony involves himself in solving the mystery.

Presenting a middle-aged look is a change in presenting Vijay Antony. However, Vijay Antony has acted in his own usual body language and expressions. It is time that Vijay Antony appreciates the need to look and act as per the script! In this film, he has changed his appearance. Let us hope he changes other aspects as well in his next movies.

Rithika Singh invites Vijay Antony to assist in spite of the severe objection from the Senior Police Official John Vijay. Rithika Singh performs well in this role acting with care and without any artificial mannerisms.

The director has given equal importance to the rest of the characters in the movie. It is a ‘cliché’ to present a character in the film as a ‘psycho’! Meenakshi Chaudhary is the right choice for the model/playback singer roles and attracts the audience in her very first movie.

The other characters in the movie – Meenakshi’s friend Siddhartha Shankar, Model Photographer Arjun Chidambaram, Model Agent Murali Sharma, and Kishore Kumar who claims to be Meenakshi’s manager – all fit in nicely in the given roles. Actress Radhika Sarathkumar is also performing in the movie in 1 or 2 scenes!

As the director Balaji K. Kumar had worked earlier in Hollywood movies, he attempted a Hollywood-style presentation of this movie. Cinematographer Sivakumar Vijayan, Music Director Girish Gopalakrishnan, and Editor R K Selva have all extended their full cooperation for this effort. As such, this movie will be talked about for its technical quality by the audience.

As mentioned at the start of the review, though the production is of good quality, the narration does not take to the viewers’ hearts and emotions! Only if the audience have sympathy for the murdered, this would have come through! Though the inquiry is narrated with high suspense, it still leaves an impression that ‘something is missing’.