Sandamarutham (2015)

Sarveswaran (Sarath Kumar) is the kind of criminal who is 80 steps ahead of his pursuers, as he himself puts it. The cops in his base, Kumbakonam, fear him, and thus, he has managed to develop a highly potent chemical that can cause destruction beyond belief. He is planning to sell this to interested terrorists, who plan to use it in 101 cities on Diwali. Meanwhile, Thirumalai ( Samuthirakani), the new inspector to the place, tries to catch him but Sarveswaran proves too good for him. However, Thirumalai's friend Surya (Sarath Kumar), an undercover police officer, decides to take him on and put an end to his menace.

Sandamarutham shares some similarities with last week's release Anegan, and this week's Tamizhukku En 1-Ai Azhuthavum. As with the latter film, here too, a terrorist conspiracy is what drives the plot forward. And, like Anegan, it has a plot that is pretty preposterous. Interestingly, both films have been co-written by writers who are who are known for their crime thrillers — if it was SuBa in the former, here, it is Rajeshkumar. And, here too, various concepts are thrown around — silastic gel, shadow wing cops, silicone fishes, a mystery chemical that is a MacGuffin, plastic surgery, terror plot to bomb 101 cities, The Mahbharata's Chakravyuham and so on. But, while Anegan used these elements to cook up a pulpy thriller, this one takes a more conventional approach where the plot is largely in service of its star.

So, we have buildups for both Sarveswaran and Surya. The former is termed as stronger than the Ramayana's Vaali, and he is motivated only by money. He wants to be showered with "Dollar mazhai". His game of wits against the straight arrow Thirumalai is one of the highlights in the film. Surya, on the other hand, is more of a conventional hero — a daring cop, a caring son, a loving fiancee and a concerned friend. But, Sarath Kumar, with his sincerity, makes us buy this character. He's also effective as the antagonist though there are times when he goes over-the-top, maybe trying to do a Rajinikanth (from Endhiran). The climactic fight when the two characters go mano a mano is a showcase for the star, who, for an actor in his 60, seems super fit.

Sandamarutham would have worked better as a lean and mean action thriller but the director, A Venkatesh, also doesn't want to lose out on the "family audience", and so we get prolonged scenes involving Surya's family. He also uses Surya's family to emotionally manipulate us — at one stage, Sarveswaran, who holds the cop's family members hostage, lays out all their mobile phones on a table and starts shooting the persons whose phones Surya calls. We are supposed to care and shed a tear but given that these characters aren't made endearing, we hardly bother.