Rajesh M Selva has this crazy inclination towards French remakes, and after remaking Sleepless nights as Thoongavanam with KamalHaasan, this time around, he's back with the remake of Point blank, which was way back released in 2010. The common issue with both the remakes IMO, is Rajesh's choice of actors for the lead role, as he casts powerful performers in roles that require them to chase, shoot, kill, indulge in some mindless action throughout, offering little/no scope for what they're best known for acting.
Story Line :
The film starts with the situations lead to Doctor Vasu (Abi Hasan) crossing paths with KK (Chiyaan Vikram), who gets admitted in the hospital, after a shootout. As Vasu's wife Aatirah (Akshara Haasan) is kidnapped, he's forced to bring KK safe out of the hospital and take him to his brother. However, fate has other plans as the duo get framed in crimes they didn't commit, and now KK needs a USB drive with crime evidence while Vasu must save his pregnant wife Aatirah. How KK exposes the real criminals, fighting gangsters and bad cops and helps Vasu get back his wife is what Kadaram kondan is all about.
Verdicts :
Chiyaan Vikram's stunning physique makes KK's action blocks believable, and his body language and attitude ooze swag naturally. The man goes on shooting, killing, smashing anyone and everyone coming his way - and that's about it. Abi Hasan makes a good debut as the vulnerable youngster caught in a situation, and emotes quite well, while Akshara Haasan is adequate. Lena is wasted as her character gets a premature end, while Vikas doesn't make much impact, despite being an important part of the proceedings.
Ghibran's background score is terrific, and Srinivas R Gutha's cinematography is top-notch, capturing the bloody action sequences well. Praveen KL makes sure the movie doesn't have any unnecessary episodes.
The premise is exciting, and Rajesh M Selva's screenplay moves at a fine pace, but the problem is the predictability from the start to the end. With an actor like Vikram leading the cast, one would certainly expect a powerful performance delivered by him other than excelling in action, but Kadaram Kondan neither offers him scope to showcase "Actor" Vikram nor does it possess goosebumps mass moments for fans to cheer loud for the "star". And that ultimately leaves one wondering, what is Vikram doing here, and what would have prompted the terrific performer to take up this script that doesn't have anything for him.
Overall :
All said, Kadaram Kondan is neither massy not entertaining, and ends up as another missed opportunity.
Credit: Bhuvi Sakthi Mohan