Imaikaa Nodigal (இமைக்கா நொடிகள்) - A coherent psycho thriller with ignorable flaws.

Cast: Adharvaa Murali, Nayanthara, Anurag Kashyap, Vijay Sethupathy
Directed by: Ajay Gnanamuthu
Cinematography : R.D. Rajasekar
Music: Hip hop Tamizha
Genre: Crime, thriller
The debutant Ajay Gnanamuthu has come up with a cat and mouse chase between a CBI officer and a psycho killer who is on a motivational killing spree. As a debutant, he shines well with his lengthy yet racy screenplay where the flaws are camouflaged to it and considered ignorable.
The story revolves around a widowed CBI officer Anjali Vikramadithyan who is on a criminal chase to nab an eccentric psycho killer Rudhra who is believed to be dead in a police encounter carried out by herself. On the other hand is Arjun, Anjali’s younger brother and a medical student who is on his way to convince his girlfriend Krithika and patch up with his relationship. There comes a moment where all 4 are caught up in a situation and Arjun ends up getting framed as the psycho killer Rudhra with grit evidences further leading to Anjali’s suspension leaving the real killer independent. “Why did Rudhra frame Arjun for the murders committed and what is the motivation of Rudhra to draw CBI’s attention ? How did the so called dead psycho killer appear alive ?” forms the crux of the story.
Though it’s a mind game like the movie Thani Oruvan, the twists and turns in the movie are quite expected and easily predictable. For audience who think this is some new kind of a genre, please be noted that this is the same old thriller that is conceptualized and shot from a different perception. The first thing that draws the attention of the entire theatre audience is performance of the director turned actor Anurag Kashyap. He is a gem the Indian film industry has and is noticeable for his directional works on BlackFriday, Gangs of wasseypur, Trapped, Udta Punjab, The Lunchbox, Bombay Velvet, Raman Raghav, Mukkabaaz and a lot more. As an actor, he shined in the movie Akira starring opposite to Sonakshi Sinha as a ruthless and corrupted police officer. His characterization as Rudhra is very stubborn and raw. Though a debutant to Tamil cinema, he pulled out the antagonist role of a brutal psycho killer with extreme perfection and tenacity. Magizh Thirumeni’s voice dubbing for Anurag Kashyap adds more intensity to his character. Nayanthara(Anjali Vikramadithyan), who is now ruling Tamil cinema with her brilliant script selection, has equally performed with Anurag Kashyap and maintained a female dominance on the script. Adharvaa(Arjun) has given a good come back after his noticeable performances in the movies Paradesi and Eeti. The director has given equal space for all 3 characters justifying their screen presence. Raakshi Khanna(Krithika), the Tholiprema girl vanishes away in a flash of light connecting two dots of the chase game holding a slight scope to the movie.
For fanatics who are tired of hearing interlinked plots, this movie is indeed worth the watch because of it’s star cast and the screenplay. Though this movie has a length closer to 170 minutes, neither the comedy nor the songs in the movie act as a speed breaker. Infact, it’s a good thing that engages the audiences back to the movie after seeing a lot of rage and violence. The lengthy love portions of Adharvaa and Raakshi Khanna could have been trimmed to an extent and the director could have concentrated more on removing the logical flaws out of the movie.
“Kadhaiyin naayagan naane.! Adhanaal kadhanayagan aanen.! ” - Quoted from the movie Dasavathaaram.
The extended cameo of Vijay Sethupathy is very pleasing and good to watch. His screen presence with Nayanthara remains the same after “Naanum rowdy dhan”. The visuals of the songs “Neeyum naanum anbe”, “Vilambara idaivezhi” are captured in the romantic way possible. HipHop Tamizha’s background score is the biggest plus for this movie as it is more of a psychotic theme and adds more scope to the film.
Though the movie is more of a female dominant, Adharvaa takes a smart control of the entire movie in the second half with his characterization and his screen sharing with Anurag Kashyap is noteworthy. The choreography of the stunt scenes are purely outrageous.
On the whole, it is a movie that can’t be missed in theatres mainly because of the characterization and the making. It will keep you engaged with your seat till the last minute.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5…!!