REVIEW

Tha Muruganantham, a former associate of Vikraman and Gokul, has made his directorial debut with Kathanayagan. Vishnu and Catherine Tresa are the leads in the Tamil film, which has Soori, Anandraj, Rajendran, Saranya Ponvannan and others in the cast. 'Makkal Selvan' Vijay Sethupathi has done a guest appearance, which is one of the attractions in the movie.

Sean Roldon has provided the music score.  J.Laxman has taken care of cinematography while Sridharan has handled the Editing. 'Kathanayagan' will be distributed in theatres by the Fox Star Studios banner.

STORY

The film is all about how coincidences and situations help a timid youngster (Vishnu Vishal) to overcome his fear and establish himself as a hero in front of his lady love's (Catherine Tresa) dad, who once made fun of him for being a faint-heart!!

Thambidurai (Vishnu) works in a government office. He fears almost everything in life. The hero finds his soul mate in Kanmani (Catherine Tresa). Like in every film story, their relationship is opposed as her father refuses to approve their relationship. At this stage, the story takes a twist after the hero's medical report mixes up with someone, who is suffering from a rare disease. Now, the hero decides to donate his kidney. What follows next should be seen on-screen.

PERFORMANCE

The title Kathanayagan suits Vishnu Vishal, who has shed all his shyness in the past and performed like a mass commercial hero. He scores in comedy, action and dance sequences. Catherine is there just for glamour and songs whereas Soori is in top form.

The basic idea of Kathanayagan looks interesting on paper but as a film, it has its flaws. Especially, the first half is a total downer with unnecessary songs, a lifeless romance and very minimal gags. Things really gain momentum only after intermission when elements like Vijay Sethupathi's cameo as a doctor, the funny kidney transplant of Dubai Sheik Anandaraj and super singer Rajendran in the climax.

Soori’s humour track with Vishnu is tired and so is Saranya Ponvannan’s ‘english predicaments’. However, Anandraj and Rajendran’s antics work, making for a comparatively more entertaining second half. (The way Rajendran reads the smoking disclaimer itself brings a smile.) Vijay Sethupathi makes a brief appearance in the movie and it is fair enough to say his star status has been sealed, with the kind of applause he receives in the theater.

Sean Roldan’s songs are surprisingly quite catchy. The composer, who has given some really good melodies, has struck gold commercially with “Paiyan manasa panthadum lady” and “Un Ninapu”.

PLUS

Vishnu’s performance

Anandraj and Rajendran’s portions

Vijay Sethupathi's cameo

MINUS

Song placement

Draggy first half

Screenplay

Verdict : Go For It Without Any Expectations!

Stars : 2/5