Tamil actor Karthi’s latest film Theeran Adhigaram Ondru is released in Telugu as Khakee. It is a cop drama based on true incidents. Rakul Preeth played the female lead.
Story :
Dheeraj Hariprasad (Karthi) takes charge as DSP and is very sincere in his job. He is very intelligent and solves any case with his tactics and logical thinking. However, he faces the challenge of his life when he comes across a notorious dacoit gang that ruthlessly kills people for gold and money. Dheeraj and his team works for years to nab the gang, but in the process they had to lose so much.
Performances:
Karthi is apt in the lead role. He has come up with a sincere and honest performance. Rakul Preeth Singh plays the lover/wife character of Karthi. She is okay but her scenes are too boring and come as speed breakers for the flow of the story. Abhimanyu Singh suits the role of a ruthless dacoit.
Technicalities:
Vinod tries to tell a cop story that is different from usual cop dramas. It is based on real incidents and fair amount of research has been done on the issue. His effort should be commended for making a cop movie that is not over the top or larger than life. However, he should have taken care of the pacing and run time.
The film is technically slick. Background score by Ghibran is pretty impressive. Camera work is stupendous. Action choreographers deserve special mention for coming up with brilliant action episodes. Production values are top notch. Editing is not on point though. There is so much lag that could have been edited out from the final cut.
Thumbs Up:
- Action part
- Karthi
- Cinematography
Thumbs Down:
- Run time
- Boring heroine track
Analysis:
Khakee is a realistic cop drama based on true incidents. It is definitely not a regular police film where the protagonist is shown as the superhuman. The protagonist in Khakee is vulnerable and appears like a commoner. There is action, but it is realistic and not over the top at any point.
The film is about a series of mysterious burglary incidents that took many lives in Tamilnadu. The police had to patiently investigate for many years to get to the criminals. Director Vinod did a decent job in showing the investigation process as real as possible, without deviating from the facts.
Vinod made sure to not to miss the commercial elements. But he should have let go off them and stick to the main plot as this story demands such undeviating attention. So much time is spent on the romance track between Karthi and Rakul that has little role to play in the actual plot. Director used it to give the story an emotional angle, but it never gets into the flow of the things and sticks out as a sore thumb.
There are a few episodes that go on and on forever. Director should have kept the runtime short as the search for criminals in the second half turns into a never ending saga. Climax is stretched beyond limits although the ending is inevitable. Despite glitches and lengthy run time, the film engages and thrills with its brilliantly shot action episodes. The detailing and research of the director is appreciable.
Khaki on a whole will impress realistic cinema lovers for its concept and execution. Wish the romance track is trimmed down and the run time is kept short to make it an appealing movie for larger section of audience.
Verdict: Realistic, But Too Long.
