Raaj Kamal Films' 'Kadaram Kondan' is all about internecine feuds in police, nexus between mafia and cops, double agents, deceit, car and bike chases and Chiyaan Vikram.
The Rajesh M Selva directorial is also about Ghibran's captivating background score, without which it would have fallen flat.
Like Kamal Hassan-starrer 'Thoongavanam', Rajesh Selva's plot and characters also are woven around an abduction. 'Thoongavanam' looms over 'Kadaram Kondan' throughout, but Vikram's double agent KK is on a roll during the entire stretch of the 121-minute movie.
Depicting the life of expecting couple Vasu (Abhi) and Aatirah (Akshara Hassan), Selva drops unexpected bombshells early through the plot to keep us on a tight leash. Selva's thriller then gathers momentum to follow the twists and turns that should power a thriller.
The element of intrigue is tightly woven around KK's hospital stint in the first half and how Abhi is drawn into the vortex of unwarranted troubles by helping out a bid on KK's life inside the hospital.
Selva's plot goes astray in the second half but then Vikram's mass elegance carries the day.
To be fair to Selva, he has panned KK's larger-than-life exploits in style.
Do not be surprised if you can count easily the number of words KK utters – he hardly speaks in 'Kadaram Kondan'. Or rather, profound silence is KK's motif in the film and Selva has deftly done his part on that count.
Then, amid dramatic twists and turns and innumerable faceless characters thrown into the screen with recklessness, Selva loses the plot. Then characters jump in and out of the screen and the plot with alarming frequency bordering on the chaos associated with some cartoon movies.
Like, 'Thoongavanam', stunt scenes are captivating in 'Kadaram Kondan'. But unlike the former, the plot is too shaky, especially in the second half.
If you pull out Vikram's KK and background score by Ghibran, then it would be a tough task for Selva's 'Kadaram Kondan', shot entirely in Malaysia, to make an impact.
Selva's craft as an excellent filmmaker with an appetite for the genre of thriller is evident in 'Kadaram Kondan', though the element of a tightly woven script is wanting as the film progresses.
Not a compulsive watch.
