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Six friends, who follow Periyar’s ideologies, fall prey to the local caste politics that happens in their hometown. Who is the reason behind this and what happens after?
Actor-director Sasikumar’s previous collaboration with director SR Prabhakaran, Sundarapandian was a success and the duo have managed to deliver a rural action drama in Kombu Vatcha Singamda again which is fairly engaging.
However, the writing could have been much better as there was scope for adequate emotions in the script. From friendship, caste politics to betrayal, the movie dabbles with everything that you would expect in a Sasikumar film. But the romantic sequences and song placements in the second half slows down the pace and the storyline gets predictable as a film progresses.
In the very first scene, we are introduced to six friends who get inspired by the life of a militant (Samuthirakani), who pitches camp in their hometown. Their first lesson from him is to treat every human equally, without any religious or caste discrimination. This very thought gets entrenched in their hearts and they grow up to be reformists of sorts. Sasikumar and his five friends follow Periyarist principles and stand up against social evils in Krishnarayapuram, a village in Karur.
Sasikumar, son of Deivendran (Mahendran), falls in love with Thamizhselvi (Madonna Sebastian), daughter of Vellappan (Hareesh Peradi), another big shot in the town. Though Sasikumar and Vellappan belong to the same sect, they doesn’t get along well as Vellappan is established a castiest with a discriminatory attitude. This irks Sasikumar and his friends who often end up locking horns with him. Within a few minutes, we witness a local body election eventually affecting everyone’s lives. Sasikumar and his friends themselves decide to split into two groups to support two parties in local body elections for personal reasons. However, little do they know that this decision of theirs would cause a crack in their friendship. Two of their friends lose their lives in this war.
Did caste politics play spoil-sport in their friendship? Who is the mastermind behind their miseries?
SR Prabhakaran has inarguably given us a good revenge drama with the right mix of action and emotions. Though the romantic sequences between Madonna and Sasikumar disturb the flow of the film, the director makes sure that the screenplay is engaging enough. However, the only flipside is that the storyline has nothing new to offer except for the intention which is good. It talks about what discrimation leads to and how lives are turned upside down because of caste politics.
Sasikumar and Soori’s combination scenes have worked well this time and is definitely something to watch out for. The scenes where Sasikumar expresses his regret over the older generation who still practice untouchability and oppressive ideologies is good. But if this film would have been released a couple of years ago as planned, it would have really worked with the audience. As Tamil cinema has been talking about caste politics for quite some time now, this film has become just another one dealing with the same subject. SR Prabhakaran’s intention is good but he could have concentrated more on the writing in post interval scenes. Though Madonna doesn’t have much scope for performance, she fits the bill for the role of Thamizhselvi, who is innocent and charming.
Dhibu Ninan Thomas’ background score has helped the audience to connect with some of the emotional sequences in the film. It elevates some of the sequences and has helped to bring the audience into the director’s world.
Mahendran as Devendran has done a commendable job. The twist in the climax sequence and the veteran director’s performance is one of the highlights of this movie.
Actors like Raghav Vijay, Abi Saravanan, Santhosh Krishnan, Logu and others have contributed well to the storyline. Overall, Kombu Vecha Singamda is a fairly engaging revenge drama, which will be received well by commercial cinema lovers.
Rating : 3/5
