Kathakali main backdrop
Kathakali main poster

Kathakali

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6.4/10 • 19

2016-01-142h 5m

ActionMysteryThriller

Returning from the states to marry his girlfriend, a common man is blamed for the murder of a local don due to their enmity in the past. He is caught in a web of conspiracies as he struggles to prove his innocence and the don's in-laws order their henchmen to take him down.

Directors
Pandiraj
Editors
Pradeep E. Ragav

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Vishal Krishna

    Vishal Krishna

    Amudhavel Rajarathnam

  2. Catherine Tresa

    Catherine Tresa

    Meenu Kutty

  3. Pawan

    Pawan

    Sambantham

  4. Sreejith Ravi

    Sreejith Ravi

    Cuddalore Inspector Saravana Vadivel

  5. Karunas

    Karunas

    Karpooram

  6. Mime Gopi

    Mime Gopi

    Gnanavel Rajarathnam

  7. Poster Nandakumar

    Poster Nandakumar

    Ex-MLA

  8. Madhusudhan Rao

    Madhusudhan Rao

    Thamba

  9. Imman Annachi

    Imman Annachi

    Amudhavel's Uncle

Reviews1

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timesofindia Avatar

timesofindia

Feb 1, 2016

6/10

Kathakali begins with a news report about a skirmish between fishermen in Chennai and Cuddalore. We think this might be the focus of the film, but then as the story unfolds, we realize it is one of the many red herrings that director Pandiraj provides us to narrate a whodunit tale that holds its suspense till the climax. The plot revolves around the murder of Thamba (Madhusudhan), the fishermen's association head in Cuddalore, who is also a gangster. The prime suspect is Amudhavel (Vishal), who has returned to the town from the US after four years for his marriage. His family has had a skirmish with Thamba, which had left his father confined to the wheelchair. The cop in charge of the case, Saravanavadivel (Srijith), is after him because his friend (Kiran), who works for Thamba, had gone to the cops alleging that Amudhavel had murdered his boss. But there are various others who have a motive to commit the murder — Amudhavel's brother (Mime Gopi); his friend Sammandham (Pavan) and his ex-MLA father who were defeated in the elections by Thamba; a textile shop owner (Jayaprakash) whose daughter Thamba had gotten married to her lover much against her father's wishes; the Chennai fishermen; Thamba's son or maybe, it was his own men! What is refreshing about Kathakali is that it is less an action film and more a mystery. Pandiraj keeps us guessing as to who the murderer might be, even as he increases the tension by putting Amudhavel into situations from where getting away seems tricky. During the middle section of the film, Amudhavel is trapped inside a bus with no way out of his predicament. Even the mandatory romantic portion (with Catherine Tresa) is done away with in short time. Only recently, we had Eetti where a wrong call paves the way for romance to develop between the hero and heroine. It is the same case here as well but as he did in his debut film Pasanga, which also had a mobile phone-based romance, the director treats these scenes in light hearted fashion. He also narrates them in instalments even as he the plot keeps moving forward, giving us one more suspect to add to our list. It is in the final portions that the film slips a bit. Given that Amudhavel is played by Vishal, the character has to be an action hero and so, we see him beating up professional gangsters with hardly any effort, and the film starts to resemble conventional action films. And Pandiraj gives us one twist too many in the end with a Murder On The Orient Express-like denouement that plausibility takes a beating.

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    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    Tamil
    Budget
    --
    Revenue
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