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Vikram has put in a commendable performance, but the plot is a dampener.(Spoilers ahead)
'I' starts on a promising note, with the hunchback Vikram fleeting across the first frame displacing the good looking version of Vikram from the initial pitching. Another aspect that was set in motion was the non-linear narrative. And seemingly, director Shankar wanted to make the 'non-linear' format a bit less complicated for his audience, for his cue to shifting time-zones was a graphic display of something bizarre happening in cell membranes, (think Anniyan) and there we are!
By the time you realise 'I' is not an implication of 'renewed self' or 'self realisation', instead refers to Influenza virus, you're almost hitting the finishing line of this visual spectacle, all the while wondering why the story had to be such a dampener.
Thanks to the overactive media, we already have a fair idea of the story; it's Vikram on revenge mode. Lingesan is an unassuming body-builder, local gym owner, whose little tryst with fame and Diya (Amy Jackson) pulls more than one rich fat nerve muscle. The said nerves are those of a business tycoon (Ramkumar Ganesan, with an uncanny resemblance to Vijay Mallya), a transgender stylist Ojas Jasmine (the make-up artiste Ojas Rajini herself), out-of-market supermodel John (Upen Patel) and the pedophile doctor Vasudevan (Suresh Gopi). And revenge follows in extensive frames.
Yay factors
Vikram as a body-builder in 'I'Vikram. Never in two minds about that, for the effort of literally creating a narrative on the hinges of body image, and working it to a commendable level, is definitely paying off for the actor.
The kaleidoscopic camera work by P C Sreeram, where the screen spills out mesmerising colours perfected into clean shots, set to brilliant scores by A R Rahman.
Weta workshop's stunning make up techniques on Vikram. The proverbial 'beauty and the beast' song, 'Yennodu nee irundal' was a sheer treat.
The massiveness that is a significant factor in Shankar's movies, and the technical brilliance. The song that is an amalgamation of ads (smart ones, some of them that could revert the moral police to their direction!).
The greasy men in their underwear knock out session. I say this considering how tricky a job it would have been for the camera! And the action sequences—all the hurling and the somersaults, especially the bicycle tactics.
Vikram and Amy Jackson in 'I'Amy Jackson's couture. And if the lip syncing could be bettered, she can withstand being a Tamil protagonist!
Vikram in his 'Merasalayitten' Chennai slang. True blue Chennaiites would feed off it.
Shankar has strayed away from corruption and the routine, that almost always did the trick for him.
Nah factors
It's far too long, and only those who are “Shankar-versed” would discount that. So keep reminding yourself that it's a Shankar flick, and tell yourself that you're waiting to be awed.
Vikram as a cripple in the film.The plot. Even the gigantic frames replete with beautiful shots and well groomed lead actors couldn't take the drab out of the plot. And it leaks with loopholes—a model who shamed a large corporate is still ahead of the pack, even though his rival was moved to lower slots for no particular reason, other than for hero revelry.
The hilarity brought in at the expense of the transgender character is nothing less than appalling. That Ojas Rajini was starring almost as herself, being at the receiving end of it, was quite distasteful.
The villains, in all sizes and shapes, make for an uninteresting gang. Suresh Gopi, who unravels only by the final frames, doesn't quite create the hype either.
Santhanam's comedy turned out to be a great way of digressing from any potential points of interests, if there was any.
Summing up, 'I' could have been happier, had 'I' saved some thoughts for the plot, and not as many for the political incorrectness.
Rating: 3/5
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