Rudhran is a Tamil movie released in cinemas. It is directed by S Kathiresan and stars Raghava Lawrence, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Poornima Bhagyaraj, Sarathkumar, Nasser
If you ask any student to tell a small formulaic equation quickly, they would invariably say (a + b)2. It is more a cliche, less a formula. Alas, Rudhran is more cliched and formulaic than (a + b)2. And not at all useful in any sense. This is the first film release for Raghava Lawrence in 3 years since his Kanchana 3. One would have thought he would have been doubly careful in choosing the story. As it happens, there is nothing of that sort in Rudhran.
Rudhran (Raghava Lawrence) is part of a happy family as his parents (Nasser and Poornim,a Bhagyaraj) dote on him. He is employed in an IT company and falls for the charm of Ananya (Priya Bhavani Shankar), a lab technician at a hospital. Just as things are all honey and rose in his life, his dad is trapped in huge debts. He had borrowed around Rs six crore to help a friend, who cons him. Unable to face the debtors, Rudhran’s father dies.
To solve his family’s financial troubles, Rudhran takes up a job in London. He travels alone abroad, leaving the rest of his family members back in India. And enters the arch-villain Boominathan (Sarath Kumar), who viciously goes after Rudhran’s family. In the process, Rudhran’s mother dies. And when he returns, rather than lie meek, Rudhran takes on the might of Boomi and his marauding gangsters.
But why does Boomi target Rudhran’s family? Well, there is no real surprise or new angle to this. But after plenty of pointless and tiresome fights, Rudhran triumphs. By that time, you are totally tired. We mean, how many stunts that have the sameness to them can you watch? There is nothing new in the story or its treatment. The only redeeming arc is the backstory of Boomi. Why he becomes a dreaded ganglord is the sole interesting aspect of the proceedings.
The songs, set to tune by GV Prakash, are loud. So is the background score. The action sequences are over the top. Raghava Lawrence is energetic in both dances and fights. The man has some comic flair, but there is hardly any occasion to exhibit that in this film. A caricaturish role lets down Sarath. But his return to play a screen villain is welcome. The rest of the cast merely have to sleep-walk their roles.
S Kathiresan, a producer making his debut as a director, wanted to make a masala movie as a safe bet. That is nothing wrong. But for that to work, a half-decent story and screenplay is needed. Rudhran is bereft of that.
Rudhran
Director: S Kathiresan
Date Created: 2023-04-15 21:53
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Balakumar Kuppuswamy
An engineer-turned-journalist, K Balakumar’s career began in print publications as a sports writer. That also opened doors for other journalistic avenues like films, music, finance, technology and politics, which nobody can escape in India. After 30 yrs in mainstream journalism, now a freelancer for various digital publications.
