Manigandan KR
Chennai, 29 Dec 2017 12:59 IST
Caarthick Raju's second film as director suggests that compassion is a quality that henchmen cannot afford.
Ulkuthu, director Caarthick Raju's second film after the impressive Thirudan Police (2014), is a reasonably good effort that brings to spotlight the lives of henchmen working for unscrupulous moneylenders.
Sura Shankar (Bala Saravanan) lives in a fishing hamlet with his sister Kadalarasi (Nandita Swetha) and their grandmother. He works in the local fish market and is loyally followed by two poor souls. Shankar tries to portray himself as a fearsome fighter with his two minions around.
One day, he bumps into Raja (Dinesh Ravi aka Attakathi Dinesh), who introduces himself as a young MBA who has walked out of his home after a fight with his dad.
Taking pity on him, Shankar offers him shelter. When Raja narrates his story, Shankar believes he has found the right match for his sister and makes an announcent to that effect. On hearing that her brother intends to marry her off to Raja, Kadalarasi too develops feelings for the young man.
Life is pleasant for a while with romance blooming between Raja and Kadalarasi. But all this comes to a grinding halt when one day Shankar witnesses Raja giving Saravanan (Dhilip Subbarayan), the wicked son of Kaaka Mani (Sharath Lohitashwa), a ruthless moneylender and the most powerful goon in the fishing community, a sound whacking.
Tension prevails and Shankar begins to fear for Raja's safety. His worries are not unfounded, however things take a further unexpected turn when Shankra again witnesses Raja murdering Saravanan in a cool and collected manner. Soon, Shankar realizes that Raja is here for revenge and Saravanan's murder is only the beginning.
Caarthick Raju's speciality is that he can weave two distinctly different genres together in a graceful manner to make an engrossing feature. In this film, he fuses a grim revenge drama with comedy and comes out with a reasonably entertaining film.
Ulkuthu is by and large funny. Occasionally, it turns serious, like when Raja takes on Saravanan first and then, much later, Kaaka Mani himself.
More interestingly, the point the film makes is pertinent and that relates to moneylenders' henchmen. The film puts across the view that these henchmen have to be ruthless and that compassion and kindness are two qualities they cannot afford to entertain. If despite knowing the difficulties, a henchman decides to show some compassion to a debtor struggling to repay his debts, he risks losing his own life and the lives of his dear ones.
The film has a solid plot and therefore is engaging. Bala Saravanan as Sura Shankar is genuinely funny. He has a meaty role in the film and the young comedian has made good use of it. Dinesh is good in most sequences, but is too tense and grim in some. He could have loosened up a bit more in those sequences.
Nandita as Kadalarasi does an excellent job. Her role might be limited, but the manner in which she portrays her character is beautiful. Dhilip Subbarayan does a fantastic job of playing Saravanan. The fight master seems to be getting better in the acting department as well, with each new film.
Sharath Lohitashwa as Kaaka Mani and Chaya Singh as Raja's sister are also impressive.
Justin Prabhakaran's music is pleasing. This coupled with some fantastic visuals from PK Varma elevate the film to another level.
Director Caarthick Raju proves with Ulkuthu that he is not a one-film wonder. He does a neat and comprehensive job of narrating his story in the best manner possible. On the whole, Ulkuthu is a good entertainer and worth a watch.