KODI – Ain’t two better than one!. Review on Kodi

How to make this festive season even better? Hmm.let just bring the mass hero into the scene, Dhanush. Did it get better? Yes, it did. Should it be much more than that? Yes. Then let’s have two of him. And that’s how Kodi is going to make your Diwali extra special.

After last month release of Thodari, this movie has been much awaited because it has few first-time things like Dhanush in a dual role and him being cast opposite Trisha. This new character of Dhanush is completely different than what we have been seeing all the while. Undoubtedly, he has done justice to both of his characters.

Director Durai Senthilkumar has brought up a script that doesn’t run with the commercial movies and has been most-watched, but he has picked up a point-focus plot. The script is narrated deftly, with good twists and turns, but it doesn’t take away or distract from the main plot.

Kodi(Dhanush) is a son of low-rung party worker(Karunaas, cameo appearance, who wants his son to become a successful politician. Kodi is brought up with the sniff of politics since childhood and appropriately trained by his father. But then his father sets himself ablaze in protest of a factory that releases mercury-waste ruining lives in the locality. Anbu(Dhanush) is the twin and totally opposite of Kodi. He is a college lecturer and pacifist. Kodi is the candidate of a party youth wing and has a girlfriend Rudhra(Trisha), very ambitious and a candidate standing for by-elections from the opposition party.

Suddenly, Kodi stumbles upon the factory documents and that lone evidence can land the party in murky waters. To keep this under covers, the party leader announces him as the candidate for the next election. What will happen to the two lovers when they are standing opposite each other and how Anbu get mixed up with all that is going haywire?

Kodi belongs to a different genre but is a proof that an actor can make a movie rise above. Dhanush as Kodi and Anbu demarcates between the two characters effortlessly. He shines through the movie like a mass hero and even in dramatic ones. Rudhra played by Trisha is young, ruthless, and an ambitious politician but seems to be placed wrong. It is difficult to picture her cunning or manipulative and stands out. This is visually visible due to the pitch-perfect performance of Dhanush. Also, her character isn’t as well written as Dhanush’s. But this is overshadowed due to gripping plot and how supporting characters are splayed in swift strokes ensuring that this doesn’t become a problem.

The movie feels relentless in the first half and this is nicely balanced by Anbu and Malathi(Anupama) romantic track. It brings a break into the heavy political drama. This storyline gets stuffed in the background during the second half and the main plot is brought to focus. Director has been successful in making the plot feel gritty but not outside the lines of commercial cinemas. Senthilkumar could have avoided few clichéd action scenes in the end, but his single-mindedness has worked to be the strength of this movie. He has reserved some twists at the end that promises a much satisfactory climax.

So to all Dhanush fans, this is a must watch. And not-so-fans, this is a must watch.