There are only few men like Rajnikanth , Vijay or Ajithkumar who can carry a movie with an ordinary script on their shoulder . “Mankatha” is one such where the versatile actor in Ajithkumar tries his level best to keep the boat from sinking for the “captain of the ship” Venkat Prabhu flounders. USP of the movie is Ajithkumar & he lives up to the hype & expectations. In a role with loads of greyness in it , Ajithkumar has had a field day. All our congratulations to him for choosing such a role which not many of his peers would readily might have accepted.
He is suave & stylish, at the same time menacing leaving one wanting for more. His footwork both in action sequences as well as the dance sequences has improved considerably. Couple instances he also tries his proficiency at comedy & comes out unscathed .All said & done, if only the script was a bit tighter & engrossing , the end result might have been a real treat.
Venkat Prabhu seems to be losing out his magic with every movie. His screenplay meanders aimlessly in the first half, with songs placed haphazardly adding up to the annoyance. The pace is shockingly slow considering the subject taken. One gets restless at many places. While one expects the pace to get picked up & some riveting moments to emerge , movie further meanders with ridiculous song featuring Premji Amaran , Laxmi rai & Makath . Where is that engrossing screenplay of “Saroja” or innocent exuberance of “Chennai 600028” gone Mr Venkat Prabhu ?!
The movie packs a punch right at the end just before the end credits when the revelation happens but by that time most of the harm has already been done. It is like watching a 50 over cricket match where the match meanders aimlessly but all of a sudden in the last 5 overs the match becomes interesting with fall of couple of wickets & the team needing to score more than a run a ball. There are flashes of brilliance here& there like that pre interval scene or that sequence of robbery (though it might have been heavily inspired from “Italian Job” ) or that in the interrogation room when Arjun is caught between the lives of his wife & the man in his custody & Ajithkumar interaction with Arjun in the same sequence.
Arjun’s is an extended guest role but he breaths fire whenever he is onscreen. One can’t but marvel at the man who looks as energetic & agile as he was 20 years back. Premji Amaran fails to tickle us like as he did in his earlier movies while others in the lead cast like Vibhav , Mahat & Ashwin have done a decent job. Trisha comes in a brief role, is there in couple of songs as does Laxmi Rai who atleast has some chance to showcase her prowess. Andrea’s is “blink and you miss” kinda role as does is Anjali’s.
Technically movie is good but lighting is couple of sequences is bad. Sakthi Sarvanan should have looked into it.
In Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music the songs are good to hear but when it comes in inopportune moments in the movie one gets tired of the same. Background music by Yuvan Shankar Raja , Karthik Raja & Premji Amaran combo is good in parts and below average in certain others especially in the first half.
On the whole , “Mankatha” is entertaining in parts , ends up with a bang with adrenaline rush & has power packed performance from Ajithkumar in his 50th movie.
Bottomline : One man show...!
3/5
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