On Split vote..... Review on Kaththi

Kathi directed by A. R. Murugados is a brilliant premise but unfortunately one that has got bogged down under the weight of its preachy execution.

The film is ambitious but flawed. We start with Kathiresan(Vijay), an expert in envisaging route maps and a petty theif, helping out jail officials to track down a criminal who has broke out from the prison.

Kathiresan is noble but crooked. As he tracks down the criminal with his sheer brilliance, he himself uses the opportunity to evade from the police.

Kathiresan lands himself in his friend's custody in chennimai and gets all set to fly to Bangkok. But not until he meets the eye with Samantha's character Ankitha and comes to know about his dead ringer Jeevanandam a social activist/expert in hydrolics who is ongoing a rage against an MNC company in favor of the farmers.

Jeeva has found water in a remote village in chennai but the MNC is standing in between his way.

Kathir, without knowing the story of Jeeva decides to switch identity and disguise the police into believing Jeeva is actually Kathir and vise versa.

What happens next? Murugados introduces the good old dual hero premise. Kathir becomes Jeeva, not only in terms of appearance but also motif.

Having bestowed with responsibility, the crooked theif becomes a demi gos foe the entire villagers. What happens afterwards forms the rest of the story.

The plot is simply superb but not the execution. There is a conscious attempt by Murugados and Vijay to satisfy the masses with an peepli-live kind of script. We get ill timed songs, action sequences that are stylish but time rating and the excruciating running time of 2 hours and 45 ode minutes.

What is common in both Kaththi and Happy New Year is that both has a patriotic plotline that is brimming beneath the surface. One is entertainment. Other one is full on melodrama.

Although both can't be compared by any means, it has to be mentioned, this melodrama is too preachy and overtly sentimental.

Unlike the Vijay movie's of old, there's not a song that is worth listeninh.

Anyhow. Vijay entertains and holds the movie together. Watch it for him, you won't be dissappoibted. 3 out of 5. On split vote of course.