Intelligent, but fools.

A rather interesting trailer piqued audiences towards a film comprising of vivid colours and unfamiliar faces. Moodar Koodam, produced by Pasanga Productions, stars Naveen, Sentrayan, Rajaj, Kuberan, Jayprakash, Oviya and several others.

Four extremely different men, brought together by a common factor - desolation, which leads them to believe that they have nothing to lose, decide to rob a wealthy house. What unfolds from this decision, how the events of the day reflect off each personality's history, and whether or not they succeed in this mission forms the rest of the story.

Moodar Koodam, is yet another caper comedy, in the lines of the recent Neram and Soodhu Kavvum. The very title credits seem to exhume shades of Guy Ritchie, and the film in itself stands out as a production highly inspired by world cinema, drawing various commendable styles into it. The film, being a dark comedy, stays true to its core till the end, though the overall attempt manages to evoke only a few, yet worthy laughs.

The main cast, mostly newcomers, have delivered their best to portray their characters to the fullest, though they still have a long way to go. With a taut storyline, packed in with neat dialogues that range from Communist wisdom to hard-hitting abusive fact-punch statements, the film has definitely come out as a refreshing attempt. Tony Chan's cinematography, coupled with good art direction and intriguing costumes, elevates the visual experience to a whole new level.

But. But. The screenplay acts as a complete dampener, moving the film at a snail's pace, with Athiyappan Shiva's editing providing no help. Music by Natarajan Shankaran is a pendulum of sorts, for the film provides intelligent BGMs and songs at one point, and turns completely unimpressive at another. The addition of more and more characters, whose purposes seem to come together at the climax, acts more as a drag rather than keeping audiences engaged.

Nervtheless, Moodar Koodam is a worthy watch, and a commendable effort. Debuatante Naveen joins the list of directors who are contributing to the "New Wave" of Tamil Cinema, though we audiences seem to have had enough of capers already.

Aditya Baskaran