Whenever a debutant filmmaker comes up with a groundbreaking movie, the desire of any movie buff would be to see them associated with big-league stars. Disappointingly, most of them remain in an unfavorable state. However, director Anand Krishnan, who shot to fame for his critically acclaimed movie “METRO” is here with a perfect combination – Vijay Antony in ‘Kodiyil Oruvan’.

If you’re looking out for the story in precise, there’s nothing new. It’s something borrowed from the hackneyed theory of a good-well educated man trying to become the savior of his neighborhood but gets hampered by the bad politicians, only to make him more powerful. Vijay Antony is no exception in this movie, but the intriguing part comes with the director’s ability to kindle emotions through the characters. He has brilliantly placed the mother sentiment (You might feel the traces of KGF here. Although it’s not a replica, the comparison remains unavoidable), which keeps the audience in emotional adherence.

The first half proceeds at a rapid momentum and completes in perfect style. Especially the semiotic factor of Vijay Antony’s character transiting between the wall painting of Mahatma Gandhi to Netaji Subash Chandra Bose proves the director’s brilliance. The post-intermission sequences do have some minus, which is an overdose of action sequences. However, they get eclipsed yet again with the emotional aspects of the mother’s character. The screen presence of Vijay Antony is groovy, and he has clearly understood what the audience expects from him. Aathmika is a huge disappointment. Even if her scenes were deleted, it would make no difference to the film.

The director could have added some intensity and depth to the female character, which we believe, he would rectify in the next movie. The other characters are neatly portrayed and the actors have done a great job. The melody song by Nivas K Prasanna and his background score is appreciable. The cinematography across the slum regions is extraordinary. Editing too is appreciable.

Well, Kodiyil Oruvan has a plot that we have already seen in many movies. Nonetheless, the strong characterizations, powerful dialogues, and engaging screenplay make it a watchable film.