Sometimes, there’s a pull exerted by a stylish, ruthless antagonist that reduces the conventional hero to a second fiddle. This villain is nearly invincible. Even when the film closes emphasising good over evil, you get a sneaky feeling that the hero’s job isn’t done yet.
Vikram takes up one such villainous role in director Anand Shankar’s Inkokkadu (dubbed from the Tamil film Iru Mugan ). Called Love, he’s a tad effeminate. For a change, the effeminate characteristics aren’t a butt of jokes.
A throwback to the times of World War II happens with the makers wanting you to believe that like Hitler and Nazis, Love has a secret weapon — a powerful concoction of drugs.
Such stories where the antagonists are the film’s highlights follow a pattern. An unfathomable crime leaves national and international security forces perplexed. A clue holds the key to the identity of the villain and his exploits. There is likely to be a police officer/intelligence agent in exile, who will be roped in to solve the crisis.
Inkokkadu walks down this path as former RAW agent Akilan (Vikram) is brought back to help track Love. There’s a past that links Akilan and Love, and the former has a personal score to settle. Anand Shankar deals with these portions with a lot of style. The frames are picture perfect (cinematography by R.D. Rajasekhar), enhanced by uber stylish actors (Nayantara as Meera, in particular). Nithya Menen (as Ayushi) has a pivotal part as an investigating agent, too. Switching between Akilan’s past and his job at hand, the film moves at a brisk pace.
It takes a while before we actually see the notorious Love. His quirks and his modus operandi, everything spells style. Vikram is like an actor possessed, enjoying every minute of playing the outlandish showman. He’s also dubbed for this part in Telugu, a move that certainly helps.
The meeting of Akilan and Love and the key twist that unfolds minutes later are the best portions of the film. The background score by Harris Jayaraj is playful, especially when Love is at his maniacal best.
This happiness, though, doesn’t last long. Things go topsy turvy when, instead of a gripping screenplay that will continue to keep you on the edge, you are treated to laughable episodes. If the drug has an inbuilt five-minute cut-off, wouldn’t it work the same way for Love? You never get an idea what happens to him soon after the prison sequence. The climax is a mockery with anyone and everyone taking a whiff of the dreaded drug, Speed. Forget wanting a brain-over-brawn screenplay, you just sit back in disbelief at the ridiculousness of it all.
Inkokkadu is technically sure-footed and helped by crackling performances by Vikram. Nayantara does her part with grace and oomph. Nithya makes a mark in her limited role. Thambi Ramaiah tries to bring in some humour into the film. Riythvika appears in a cameo and her part as a troubled girl in Malaysia is reminiscent of Kabali .
In the end, the film leaves us underwhelmed.
Inkokkadu
Cast: Vikram, Nayantara and Nithya Menen
Direction: Anand Shankar
Music: Harris Jayaraj
Rating: 2.5
