IANS Review: ‘Dejavu’: A promising start by a newbie director (IANS Rating: ***1/2)

By Manigandan K.R.

Film: Dejavu (Releasing in Theatres). Duration: 117 minutes.

Director: Arvindh Srinivasan. Cast: Arulnithi, Achyunth Kumar, Smruthi Venkat, Chetan, Kali Venkat and Madhoo (Madhu Bala).
IANS Rating: ***1/2

Director Arvindh Srinivasan's 'Dejavu' begins as an investigative thriller and eventually turns into a revenge drama. The director, who is making his debut with this film, seems to have come up with an interesting script that is full of twists and turns.

'Dejavu' opens with a writer named Subramani (Achyuth Kumar) going to a police station to ask for protection. The writer, who is in an inebriated state, claims that the characters from the crime stories he has been writing are actually making calls to him, threatening to kill him.

Initially, the cops dismiss his statement as the rantings of a drunkard and ask him to leave the premises. But as fate would have it, it is not long before an important case gets them to realise that the incidents the man seems to be writing in his book happen exactly as soon as he writes them or as he is writing them.

The important case that leads the cops back to the writer is the kidnapping of a girl called Pooja (Smruthi Venkat). What makes the case important is that she happens to be the daughter of the Director General of Police Asha Pramod (Madhu Bala).

The DGP, who is under pressure from the government to give a rosy picture of the law and order situation in the state as elections are round the corner, puts up a brave face and tells the media that her daughter is safe and at home.

But she gets worried. As she cannot employ any of the state's resources for tracking her daughter's whereabouts, she seeks the help of a third party, who promises to send a special officer, Vikram (Arulnithi), to investigate the case.

Vikram takes over the matter and promises to bring back the daughter of the DGP safe and sound. That is easier said than done, for everything is not what it seems.

The script is refreshingly fresh and therefore, the film has your attention.

The story gets off to a good start and then starts losing steam, when suddenly a twist in the plot generates some pace to the narration. After this twist, the story has your attention for a while but again starts losing intensity until another twist appears. This cycle keeps repeating itself until the film's climax.

The film has some really good performances to offer as well. Arulnithi as the special police officer investigating the case, looks every bit the part. Kannada actor Achyuth Kumar delivers an impressive performance as a drunk writer and actor Kali Venkat as constable Ezhumalai again scores in this film with a commendable performance.

Actress Madhu Bala, who plays the DGP, however, does not fit the role.

On the technical front, P. G. Muthiah's visuals are just fantastic and Ghibran's music is just about okay.

In short, newcomer Arvindh seems to have made a promising start with 'Dejavu'.

Source: IANS