The very engrossing synopsis of the new movie Garudan, starring Soori, has been written and directed by RS Durai Senthil kumar from a story by Vetrimaran. It is about two men who were once like brothers and their trusted friend forcing them to take sides in his predicament. The problem with the film is that it takes so long through several cliché beats to get to the point where this conflict starts to generate some drama within the narrative. While Garudan does not really get into a territory that would make it tiresome viewing, there are times when crowd-pleasing elements can limit its potential as an effective drama.
Aadhi and Karuna are childhood best buddies who eventually rose to fame. They supported each other, and their families were also close-knit. Karuna’s aide was Sokkan. When he was young, Karuna found Sokkan as one rootless orphan on earth, and he gave him this name Sokkan himself by his grandmother (Appatha). Things took sharp turns when Karuna became obsessed with money and power after Appatha’s death. How Sokkan reacts to this situation where loyalty is at stake versus justice forms part of the story in Garudan.
Those who follow Tamil cinema closely know that there are two categories of films in mainstream Tamil cinema. There are those which belong to the category of films that can be released anywhere whilst rest are typically B/C center films known as cringe or paasam movies by cosmopolitan audience. Mostly playing comedy roles in films where he used to be second hero or sidekick of main lead actor Soori could be seen too as an actor with larger mass appeal for B & C centers going by his filmography. Therefore, RS Durai Senthilkumar has treated this film keeping people belonging to such kind of movies in mind while making it possible for you to appreciate it if you fancy raucous, over-exaggerated displays of loyalty.
Looking at the characterization of Sokkan one would think that the editor has made Soori a hero. In other words, RS Durai Senthilkumar did not want to make Soori a usual mass hero in this one. But when it comes to the power differential, he is nothing more than a sidekick. Actually, some of the typical Soori’s humor was irritating and his long monologue like confessions were annoying to watch as well in this movie. Only it is also a kind off blessing and curse. The blessing is that you do not get a superhero protagonist; the curse is that you still have to sit through average Soori material even if he is leading man here.
Sasikumar goes through motions in this part and there isn’t much for him to do with it either. Same goes for Samuthirakani’s portrayal of police officer character as well. Karuna (Unnimukundan) is an interesting character who does not seem evil but rather someone who has been manipulated into becoming bad person by Unnimukundan’s fans cannot help but notice that he sways his typical expressions throughout his role very effectively. At the climax of this film, Sshivada gets enough opportunity to exhibit her talent and skills fully within Garudan movie itself by showcasing her caliber inside last frames or better still during its final moments and scenes too where she could act up rightly with regard to her acting abilities thereby perfecting her career in acting industry at large.
Vetrimaran is the story giver, if one looks at the power hierarchy between characters, it can be seen that Vetrimaran wanted to depict how caste determined life and how the idea of loyalty helped keep the underprivileged groups suppressed. In RS Durai Senthilkumar’s screenplay, such political angles are given little emphasis while the script seems too desperate to make a crowd-pleasing movie by going for broad strokes.
I have already mentioned that having Sokkan choose between justice and loyalty would have made an interesting character study. However, the movie’s desire to turn a real Sokkan into a mass hero makes it more ordinary than unique in any way. The film’s cinematography generally takes warm tone with excessive use of this during its climax. Nevertheless Soori struggles in many areas to catch that highspeed swagger even though they have worked hard to make the fight scenes as real as possible.
Actually 2021 has been so bad for Tamil cinema which has been dominated by rereleases and other language movies for quite some time now. Comparatively speaking Garudan might be considered as being slightly better because there is certain drama in its story which makes it sound interesting on paper due to lack of content scarcity in general. However, when it comes to execution side of this matter, Garudan feels like hurried and compromised product which could have become an unforgettable film later on.
Watch Garudan For Free On Putlocker.