BIG SCREEN
Movie: Mankatha
Cast: Ajith, Arjun, Trisha, Lakshmi Rai, Premji, Vaibhav
“Mankatha”, Venkat Prabhu's game, is not a battle between the good and the bad. It is rather a battle between the bad and the worst. Fair play goes for a toss as the tagline “Strictly no rules” promises. You have got to hand it to Ajith; no other hero of his time might have accepted this role, let alone a golden jubilee venture.
Plot
“Mankatha” starts of with four youngsters who want to make a quick buck. When they come to know about the whereabouts of a huge amount of money involved in IPL betting, they sketch a plan to get away with the money. Little do they know that they are not the only people behind this money.
Enters Vinayak Mahadhevan (Ajith), a suspended police officer offering to help them, in return for a share in the loot. The heist is planned and executed to perfection. All is well until now when people start showing their true colours. A cat and mouse game ensues between all those involved which leads to a stunning climax that works big time and also breaks all preconceived notions in Tamil cinema.
Ajith as Vinayak Mahadhevan spews venom on screen. It is sheer delight to see him play the bad man to the core. He has had a blast shooting this one. Watch out for the bloopers as the credits roll to understand this.
Arjun is the perfect foil and looks refreshing on screen unlike his recent releases. Premgi's antics are becoming a bit repetitive. Vaibhav, Mahath and the guy who plays the young cop are adequate. The four lead female actror — Trisha, Anjali, Lakshmi Rai and Andrea — don't have much to do in this guy flick.
Technicalities
The Venkat-Yuvan combo rarely disappoints and “Mankatha” is no exception. But the songs do hamper the pace of this action thriller. Venkat could have easily done away with the two duets in the first half. But the theme music is a scream. The superbly choreographed stunt sequences have been captured well by Sakthi Saravanan's lens.
Mankatha has its drawbacks. While it will work with its target audience of youngsters (Ajith fans in particular), it virtually has nothing for the family and women.
Nothing about the modus operandi of betting is shown. Logical loopholes are many, masked only by Ajith's screen presence.
Venkat Prabhu in his first movie outside his comfort zone hasn't disappointed.
Bottomline: “Mankatha” is definitely not the cracker of a movie one expected from the trailers. But it is definitely a decent one-time watch for the regular audience and a treat for thala fans. Going by the initial euphoria and the absence of other biggies, “Mankatha” should be one of the highest grossers of the year.
BHARATH VIJAYAKUMAR, 25 years, Working in TCS
