Director Karthick Naren who made a splashy debut with the thriller, ‘Dhuruvangal 16’, after a gap of over three years, has come up with ‘Mafia: Chapter 1’ - a multi-starrer with Arun Vijay and Prasanna locking horns and Priya Bhavani Shankar playing the female lead. When we try and analyze the director’s debut film, two things stand out - the narrative and the suspense element. However, in Mafia, both have gone for a toss making the film look bland and lifeless.
The movie is about Aryan (Arun Vijay), who is with the Narcotics Bureau and his battle to curb drug trafficking that is run by a syndicate whose key player is Diwaker (Prasanna). As the film’s title, we do realize that there are chapters to come and what has happened in this chapter is just the beginning and has started the ball rolling.
The biggest setback for the movie was its pace, thanks to the slow-motion sequences that seemed to have been forced into the narrative and unwanted montage songs that could have easily saved 20 minutes in total. With a running time of only 112 minutes, the film still felt stretched and gave a feeling of watching an amateurishly made short film with a liberal budget.
Priya Bhavani Shankar looked odd as the narcotics bureau officer. She didn’t get decent lines like the many characters in the movie including Arun Vijay. We just get a glimpse of her relationship with Arun Vijay during a song. That’s it. There was nothing more solid.
All the characters in the movie appear like props with some random purpose. The higher official of Arun Vijay appeared in a couple of scenes and then disappeared. The character of ‘Thalaivasal’ Vijay was also hazy. And, the reason for a higher official to hang out with a person like ‘Thalaivasal’ Vijay while investigating a drug racket was something unbelievable.
Once again, an actor like Prasanna was wasted. He was provided with a three-piece suit, an aviator glass and a private jet to look suave. He looked and played the part, but unfortunately, the cause was lost. The writing was so shallow that it didn't allow for any character to come through the quagmire.
Almost everyone in the movie looked neat and dressed like they were gearing up for an after-office party with eye-catchy suits and shades. Arun Vijay’s notorious beard and hairstyle made him look like he was one among the Mafia, though he plays a cop.
The hook in the climax gave some hope for the upcoming chapter. However, with some diligent trimming, that climax could have been an interval block and then the upcoming chapter could have been rolled along in this movie with some more duration.
Anyway, it is Karthick Naren’s vision. This movie is all style with no substance. We end up getting to see slickly orchestrated action in frozen frames with a cliched and beaten down narrative. I hope the upcoming chapter makes up for it.
Verdict: Disappointing
Rating: 2 / 5
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