Retro Review: Jyothika and Suriya have jointly produced a retro film under their 2D banner, directed by Karthik Subbaraj. Pooja Hegde is playing the female lead opposite Suriya, while Lubbar Bandhu Swasika plays Suriya’s adoptive mother, and Joju George plays his adoptive father. Prakash Raj, Nasser, Jayaram, etc. have acted in many roles. After the failure of Ganguly, fans were eagerly waiting for Karthik Subbaraj to give Suriya a big blockbuster film with Retro. But it has become a sad thing that he did not do it completely.
Star Cast: Suriya, Pooja Hegde
Director: Karthik Subbaraj
Let’s see in this review whether this film is a quality event for Suriya fans.
Retro story: When a speechless priest is found murdered in a Krishna temple, Swasika decides to raise the boy as her son. But her husband and gangster Joju George don’t like it at all. At one point, Swasika falls ill, and a young man named Parivel (Surya) takes out the people who are coming to kill Joju George on a train. After that, Joju George accepts Surya as his son.
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Read Surya has had a strange problem since childhood, that he doesn’t know how to smile. Surya, who used to act as an iron fist to his father and beat up his enemies because of his love for Rukmani (Pooja), says that he is going to leave all that and live a happy life with Pooja Hegde. But finally, due to the problem that Surya did the goldfish smuggling job that his father had asked him to do, Joju George tries to kill Pooja Hegde by dancing to the song ‘Kanima’ at the wedding.
Surya cuts off his hand and goes to jail. Pooja Hegde breaks up with Surya and goes to the Andamans because he has taken up rowdyism again. Surya, who was singing a sad song to the song “Kannadipoove” with a beard in prison, not knowing where his girlfriend is, finds out that she is in the Andaman. He kidnaps Dr. Jayaram and lies to him that he is a compounder and that he is a doctor, and goes to the Andaman.
Did he save the people who were enslaved by Nasser and his sons, who were conducting a gladiator-like fight called a cult? The story of this retro film is what Joju George did to get revenge on Surya with a golden hand.
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How is the film? The single-shot scene that starts with the Kanima song and the fight scene that follows it is a special event. Karthik Subbaraj has given Suriya a great film, and the fans are shouting in the Love portion, but the film is very weak in the Laugh portion. Karthik Subbaraj has given a story of a gladiator on one side, and Lord Krishna being born, hidden, and killing the cruel Kamsa on the other side, in a Thalapathy style twist. Although some parts of that portion are great, the overall story is so good that the laughter of the fans is stifled when Suriya starts laughing before the interval.
Plus: Suriya’s performance is what makes this film worth watching till the end. This film is not as boring as Ganguly. Apart from Suriya, Joju George’s performance and Pooja Hegde’s character are enjoyable. Santhosh Narayanan keeps you going till the end, giving you goosebumps as much as he can. Shreyash Krishna’s cinematography, which beautifully captures the beauty of the Andaman, is another highlight. It’s a good thing that the subject of laughter has been brought into the screenplay and carried through beautifully till the end, ending the film with a different climax. Suriya, who is a hit in action scenes, has proven himself to be a hero in emotional scenes as well.
Minus: If you look at the fact that the film is already divided into 3 sections, namely Love, Laugh, and War, and then goes beyond that, namely Dhammam and The One, Karthik Subbaraj tests the patience of the fans at many places. Even if the film had just made one story at the same pace as it started, it would have been a blockbuster hit.
Leaving that aside, he has made many branch stories like Tag Diversion and using symbols like he did in the film Jagame Thanthiram, terribly. Editor Shafiq Mohammed Ali may have cut and written some scenes without showing mercy. Prakash Raj’s portion is all very poorly written and tests the fans. Shreya’s song is not very impressive. Vidhu’s villainy, who plays Nassar’s son who commits anarchy under the pretext of friendship, is a workout in some places, but it finally catches on.
Especially, the whole Jathamuni story seems to be about Suriya not yet coming out of the effects of the film Ganguava. Even though the story moves on and off, we should definitely watch this retro film in the theater once for Suriya’s performance and Karthik Subbaraj’s Hollywood style making. But, there is a feeling that Karthik Subbaraj has spoiled the film that should have been a blockbuster hit by handling it in a different way.