After several promising attempts like Naaigal Jaakirathai , Jackson Durai, Sibiraj failed with his attempt at dishing out an adult comedy in kattapava kaanom, and is now back on screens in a rugged makeover in Sathya, with Saithan Maker Pradeep Krishnamoorthy at the helm of affairs. Has the actor scored a success this time? Here's team AP Herald's exclusive Sathya FDFS review.
Sathya (Sibiraj), settled abroad, gets a call from his ex lover Swetha (Remya Nambeesan), and he starts to India. On reaching India and meeting her, he gets to know that she's married, and her daughter Riya is missing. As she requests him to help her, Sathya embarks on a deadly mission to find Riya, as he's also confronted by questions of the very existence of a character named Riya. As Swetha faces her end, Sathya is aided by inspector Chowdary (Anandraj) and ACP Anuya (Varalakshmi Sarathkumar) in his mission. Was Swetha really having a child named Riya, and whether Sathya was able to save the child is what the action-packed entertainer is all about.
Sibiraj, known to try his best to ape his dad Sathyaraj's mannerisms and body language, this time gets it easy, as his face is covered by the thick beard he sports for 90% of the runtime, and he has to mostly look stone-faced, but still, he fails badly in the romantic sequences. As the damsel in distress and the girl madly in love, Remya Nambeesan is perfect, and emotes well. Varalakshmi Sarathkumar is a revelation, with a surprise character, and she excels with the twist associated with her role. Anandraj and Sathish do their roles satisfactorily, while Yogi Babu tickles the funny bone rarely in the otherwise dark themed movie.
Background score by Simon King is terrific, while the same cannot be said of his songs, as the sweet number Yavvana alone passes the muster. Arunmani Palani's Cinematography is impressive, as he captures the stunning chases and thrilling stunt sequences perfectly. Gautham Ravichandran's editing could have been better, as the movie drags heavily in the second half. After scoring a huge disaster with Saithan which was a poor adaptation of a popular novel by renowned writer Sujatha, director Pradeep Krishnamoorthy has this time opted for a safe bet with the remake of Telugu surprise hit Kshanam.
Despite having a promising plot by Adivi Sesh, Pradeep falters big time with his poor casting, as Sibiraj never emotes, and Varalakshmi emotes more than required. Besides, with poorly written dialogues and a dragged screenplay in the second half, Sathya is a pale shadow of super engaging Kshanam. Too many unwanted sequences and uninspiring performances ruin the impact given by the original, and the interesting premise. Only Simon King's BGM and technical aspects remain as the saving grace of this mediocre remake.
