Gautam Menon has once again asserted that he is a path breaking writer-cum-director who has his viewers adrenalin pumping with his engrossing crime drama Kaakha Kaakha. The 153 minute film packs in quite a solid punch as it overflows with sharp dialogues and operatic violence. Moreover an exceptional ensemble cast does full justice to this stylised tale of love and death.

Speed, style and sparkle are the essence of Kaakha Kaakha. However there is a very thin storyline about a group of honest police officers led by Anbu Selvan (Surya) the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). He specialises in encounter killings of gangsters in Chennai along with three other officers Sreekanth ( Balaji), Arul (Vivek) and Ilamaran (Sethu) who are all sincere and upright.

Anbu Selvan is a loner and strongly believes that a family is a burden and liability for a policeman. But somewhere down the lane he meets Maya (Jothika) a charming schoolteacher and falls in love with her. Anbu Selvan and his friend’s shoot down a hardcore criminal Sethu (Yog) in an encounter, but little did they realize that Sethu’s brother Pandian (Jeevan), a hit man wanted by the Mumbai police swears revenge. He is a cold-blooded sadistic killer who specialises in ransom and extortion takes over the gang.

Now the rest of the film is about Anbu Selvan’s trials and tribulations to protect Maya and his colleagues as Pandian puts pressure on the police force by his ruthless methods. It is a deadly cat-and-mouse game, which ends in a spellbinding climax. In the lead Surya as Anbu Selvan is a revelation and gives an outstanding performance with his inborn flair of conveying the extremes of intensity and emotional fragility. Actually after training, the hero had added pounds of muscles to his lithe frame to look convincing as the ACP.

Jyothika’s is strikingly sweet and subdued with minimum make-up and aesthetically designed cotton saris and salwars. The on-screen chemistry between Surya and Jothika is replete with breezy banter. As Anbu Selvan’s nemesis Pandian, Jeevan is riveting and a future star in the making. R.D.Rajasekhar the cinematographer with his wide angle tight shots has made the film a visual treat, especially the song picturisation of “Uyirin Urirae….”, shot in Andamans and the Ramya Krishnan item number “Thoodhu Varuma…” are worth mentioning. However the highlight of the film is the background score and peppy songs of Harris Jayaraj.

On the downside, the film moves at a slow pace in the first half. Still Kaakha Kaakha has the requisite amount of zing and zap. If you are looking for a sensible film with substance, go ahead and have a blast.

Courtesy : Net Sources