Isai - Movie Review: Touches the high octanes but culminates in disharmony!

Isai - Review:
Cast : Sathyaraj, SJ Suryah, Kanja Karuppu,Savithri (Sulagna Panigrahi)
Direction/Music: SJ Suryah.
Cinematography : Soundararajan.

Plot:

What jealousy can do to a genius - This is how SJ Suryah briefs the plot of Isai. From the outset , Isai is basically a mind game, and the war between the egoistic, jealous Master Vetri selvan and his obedient disciple AK Shiva. Though it's his arrogant attitude that earns the wrath of the people in the cine-industry, Vetri strongly feels that it is Shiva who has stolen the name and fame that he once had, and hence devices a scheme to bring down Shiva, and prove that he is the undisputed king of music forever. But if you patiently sit through the tiring 3 hours and 13 minutes of Isai thinking this will be a war of talents, with mindgames involved, wait for the climax - the biggest joke Surya makes out of the pitiable audience.

Screenplay and Technical departments : 
The first half almost can be equated to a soft porn, with SJS falling in love with Savithri, and his romantic episodes that follow (there are few short sequences in the second half as well, but you ignore them there. SJ Suryah has named his hero and heroine Shiva and Jenny - his Kushi pair !!).

The movie begins straight away, introducing the conflict point, and lesser detailing is given to the downfall of Vetriselvan and the rise of Shiva. Most of the first half is wasted pointlessly on the romantic episodes, but Kanja Karuppu's sequences with Sathyaraj evoke laughter, and the mighty presence of Sathyaraj forces a wait for the second half. Isai disguises itself as a psychological thriller in the much interesting second half, which definitely keeps the audience glued. Watch out for some interesting sequences involving Sathyaraj and the way he plots the downfall of SJS. Pacy alright, but the finale - a shocker from SJS.

Of the songs composed by Suryah, Isai veesi and Atho vaanile stand out. Soundararajan's cinematography captures the scenic beauty as well the darker part and matches the mood of the movie perfectly. Editing by Riyas could have been better, as Isai definitely requires trimming of atleast 30 minutes.

Performances :

Sathyaraj is the man. It's his seething dialogue delivery interlaced with his trademark wry wit and screen presence that can be mentioned as the high point of Isai. His combination with Kanja karuppu is hilarious and rescues us from the boring sequences in the first half. SJ Suryah comes up with a routine performance, and is just apt for the role. Savithri's lip sync is a concern, otherwise she puts up a decent performance in a role that offers limited scope( SJ Suryah has made full use of her in a glamorous way though).

The clash between musical talents immediately brings memories of Bharathi - Kannan from Poovellam Kaetupaar (which had a decent romantic story as its basic premise), but Isai is much more than just a clash. It's a psychological thriller where the antagonist imposes mental impact on the hero, and ends with the hero's realization of the bitter truth on who actually turned his love and life upside down. The hero imagining things and the troubled mental state remind us of the Rockstar protagonist of last year's Nenokkadine(telugu) but the comparisons end there.

A lot of glamorous scenes could have definitely been avoided, as they don't help the already dragging screenplay in anyway. Rather than building up sequences for the uninteresting romance track, SJS could have definitely established the reasons for downfall of Vetri and the gradual rise of Shiva. The second half almost makes it up for the boring first, but the end is unacceptable.

What works : 
Sathyaraj, Scenes involving Kanja Karuppu, Second half(except climax)
What doesn't:
The complete first half and the intimate sequences.Climax - a big letdown.

VERDICT :

A mindgame that catches pace in the second half, culminating in an Intolerably cruel joke on the audience.

Our Rating: 5.5/10