Prabhu Solomon is a hot favourite with movie goers who like emotional stories set amidst nature. Cinematographer Vetrivel Mahendran does allow us the luxury of soaking into some beautiful scenic moments from the top of a train even while the drama is on; but what mars the story are the unnecessarily lengthy scenes presumed to be comedy but which test our patience. The rail ( Thodari in Tamil) journey could have been a taut thriller with a sprinkling of funny people in the compartment but it doesn’t . How can one explain this scene, where the lead pair breaks into a sprightly song just when the mood is set for a disaster, or the one when the engine driver dies and the passengers are trapped with the train racing full throttle, and an embittered security guard appears out of nowhere to take revenge.
Balli Sivaji (Dhanush) is an orphan who has grown up in a train as a pantry worker. Saroja is a touch-up assistant for a heroine who is travelling to Chennai along with the heroine, her mother and their dog. Sivaji falls instantly in love with her while the entire pantry team wants to impress the heroine. There’s no grand reason for the mishap that ensues - no hidden bomb to be defused nor a terrorist sneaking into the train. It is just a band of thugs who rob the passengers, lock them in the compartment while small tiffs between colleagues at the wheels land the train in a jeopardy. While the sub plots take time to reach a full circle, the director thinks a regular thriller with some tense moments might not suffice to make it a hit. So he brings in the media that overtakes the main plot.
A satire is good but when it goes on and on, one gets the feeling that there is not enough substance in the film. It is a Peepli Live like coverage given to the entire event, there are some funny scenes like a fire engine racing on par with train and putting out the fire. The minister and people in the train do not sport one worried look. Ganesh Venkatraman walks in as if he is the saviour but it is Sivaji who does the saving act. There are unnecessary dialogues which seem more like a desperate attempt for publicity, about Telugu and Tamil film stars, about who is talented and who is not and and which industry is encouraging them and which is not.
Keerthy Suresh is far more capable of bringing subtlety in her work, but she nevertheless brings in the required innocence. Dhanush becomes a character in the story and not the hero, as for most of the film, he is locked up in a compartment. The film is too formulaic to break fresh ground.
Rail
Cast: Dhanush, Keerthy Suresh
Direction: Prabhu Solomon
Music: Immam
Plot: Pantry worker saves a passenger train from crashing
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 2.75
