Special: The one-stop halt on Satyam

Basically, it is a one-man show. The film holds you riveted to a certain extent only due to Vishal's involvement, top of the range visual effects, superbly crafted action scenes and splendid camera work.

Debutant director A.Rajasekhar tackles the film half heartedly as he dilutes it with a lot of mass masala, which shifts the focus from the plot. The problem is that, story is wafer thin and the end product looks like a B-grade Telugu action movie.

It looks like the story is a few incidents in the life of a cop, Satyam (Vishal) who is fighting for justice against the corrupt system. He believes in what he was told at a young impressionable age - Sattamum, Saamiyum Onnu (the Law and God are the same). This is the motto in his life as he tries to bring the scums of the earth to face justice. He lives with his doting mother (Sudha Chandran) whose guiding force has made him the man he is.

They live in an apartment complex with a girl Deva (Nayanthara) a wannabe television news reporter who moves around with a camera with her friend Bora (Premji) and a group of mischievous children. Deva who is initially at loggerheads with Satyam falls for him when she knows he is an upright cop with principles.

Meanwhile trouble starts brewing for Satyam, when he is asked by the corrupt and cunning Home Minister Kondal Dasan (Kota Srinivasa Rao) to take over the investigation of two ministers who were brutally gunned down by an assassin.

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Satyam gets to the root of the problem when he discovers that there is a power struggle going on for the Chief Ministers chair, and the Home Minister has asked his trusted hatchet man Dilli (Ravi Kalle) a killer to dispose of his rivals.

Meanwhile Satyam finds that the actual killer is his role model and an ex-police officer Manikavel (Upendra), a man of integrity and honesty who due to circumstances is now gunning for bad elements in the society. Satyam is shattered by the findings and is forced to put his mentor in jail.

He becomes the angry young man, as he takes on Dasan, Dilli and the brain behind Acharya (Prabhu Nepaul) single –handedly leading to a predictable climax.

The plus points of the film is Craig Mumma's stunning visual effects. The airport scene where Vishal chases Upendra along the runway is well taken including the blow-up scene. Then there is a Cold Sweat style car chase through the busy traffic of Chennai, which looks so real.

Added to that Stun Siva's action choreography is terrific, the way Vishal is shown fighting an army of baddies at close range and the Ice factory running action scenes are deadly. All this looks good on screen due to R.D Rajasekar's top class cinematography. He employs a lot of top-angle shots, which give you a sense of 'you are there' realism.

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The major drawback is the lack of a solid screenplay. Too much footage is wasted in the first half on a group of kids and their Tom and Jerry type slapstick comedy track with Nayanthara and Premji, borrowed heavily from Home Alone is a downer. Harris Jayaraj's music lacks the 'dum' associated with him and far too many songs at regular intervals spoil the tempo of this cop movie.

The song picturisation including the much hyped Chellame, Chellame… lacks imagination and could have been better. Editor Antony could have easily trimmed this nearly 3 hours movie especially, the long drawn out first half.

Nayanthara’s role of a dumb girl goes against her image though she scores as the glamour quotient especially in the song shot in Turkey. But her character has been badly etched and is basically there as a lead to the songs. Upendra is there in a routine sympathetic role and it looks like he is wasted. Kota and Ravi Kalle do their usual caricature bad man roles efficiently.

Vishal anchors the film and bestows upon it a gravity it wouldn't have otherwise. He looks every inch a cop in uniform with his crew cut hair, rippling muscles, brooding and understated, he is a note perfect performer.

Verdict- Average