Iraivan

aware of; the film is testimony to the fact that the shelf-life of ideas is shrinking and that you always need to be a step ahead of others. In recent years, we have seen a fair share of psycho-thrillers that successfully piggybacked on the comeback of the genre, thanks to Raatsasan. But the problem with Iraivan, a pure-genre psycho-thriller starring Jayam Ravi and Nayanthara — releasing almost a year after it wrapped production — is that we got a surprise hit in the meantime with Por Thozhil, a film that shares a tad too many similarities with Iraivan. The comparisons will be unavoidable and quite unfortunate for Ahmed’s film as he seems to have had a really earnest psychopath story to tell, one that stands apart in its over-arching theme; about how power corrupts men to play god. Assistant Commissioner Arjun (Jayam Ravi) cannot wait for God to serve justice, so, he doesn’t even wince when he puts down criminals in his illegal encounter spree. As he himself admits to in the very first shot (a simple, sobering entrance), Arjun is fearless and lacks empathy for those he believes are rotten, and Ravi plays Arjun with a straight face and soulless eyes. Before you squirm and hesitate to know further, given the history of cinema glorifying police encounters, Arjun admits he’s not a good guy and we do get a pay-off later. Arjun pays heed to only Andrew (Narain), his best friend and colleague, the only voice of consciousness, someone who is constantly worried about what Arjun’s actions could bring upon them and their loved ones. Andrew, aware that the path Arjun has chosen is unredeemable, doesn’t hesitate to break the heart of his sister Priya (Nayanthara) who wants to marry Arjun. Life goes on until a truly gruesome psychopathic killer called... Here's my full review: