Film: Isai
Director: S. J. Suryah
Cast: S. J. Suryah, Sulagna Panigrahi, Sathyaraj
S.J. Suryah’s Isai begins with a curious disclaimer, that what we're about to see is fiction. But slowly, we begin to see why this was necessary. The film tells the story of a famous film-music composer named " Isai Vendhan " Vetrichelvan (Sathyaraj). And he is pitted against a composer named A.K. Shiva (those initials... again, remind you of someone?), who's called " Isai Kadal " and who was once part of Vetrichelvan's orchestra. Shiva's debut as an independent music director was in a film directed by someone who formerly assisted... Mani Ratnam. Phew. Without that disclaimer, Suryah would have been toast.
A large swath of the first half covers an excruciating romantic track between Shiva and Jennifer (Sulagna Panigrahi). This being an S.J. Suryah movie, you brace yourself for the inevitable carnality (if you want to be kind) — the director doesn't disappoint. Luckily, around interval point, the story veers back to the central conflict. Shiva begins seeing things and thinks he's going mad. The hows and the whys would have been far more interesting had the film been shorter. The contrivances needed more work.
Baradwaj Rangan
