EXPECT MORE LOOPHOLES THAN A CRIME BOSS'S TAX RETURNS

Even Kamal Haasan and Simbu can't save this gangster drama that's all surface-level swagger and zero soul

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan

There's a time when he feeds you a feast, and a time when he feeds you s**t too, says the gangster's brother, summing up Kamal Haasan's polarising behaviour as a roguish criminal. In today's work lingo, he's one gun-toting gangster who gaslights you like a pro in Thug Life.

This glossy Mani Ratnam directorial, with trigger-happy players with suspicious moral compasses, dressed in black kurtas and androgynous linen creations, features heavyweights and heavier artillery — Kamal Haasan, Simbu, Nasir, Ali Fazal, Trisha, Abhirami.

Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman's background score thunders through it all.

But here's the rub — it's all surface-level swagger and zero soul. The plot has more loopholes than a crime boss's tax returns.

You start to wonder if more effort went into styling Kamal's long mane than into fixing the narrative. Full disclosure: I was too busy marvelling at the long hair-sporting gangsters, wondering if that's back as a summer trend — and more importantly, what conditioner did they use while polishing off people or severing heads?

FORGETS TO CONNECT THE DOTS

The film throws together a bunch of compelling actors, but forgets to connect the dots. Power, greed, ambition, pettiness — all the juicy themes are there, just not explored with any real depth.