The technical construction of a good thriller is a very complex process in wich there is little margin for error. Too little information will not keep the audience engage while too little information gives away too much of the plot. Director Chachi gets this delicate line perfectly defined in the tense thriller Sattam en Kaiyil.
Chachi’s brother-in-law, Sathish plays the lead role after the success of Conjuring Kannappan. The supporting cast includes Ajay Raja, Paval Navageethan, Mime Gopi, Rithika Tamilselvi, Vidya Pradeep and Jeeva Ravi.
A tense Gautham (Sathish) is on his way at night towards Yercaud when an unexpected event occurs that presents multiple dilemmas to him. The consequences of this act as well as what preceded this forms the basis for this taut suspense thriller.
While the pace of the film, particularly in the first half, is not a rapid one, the viewer is kept raptly engaged throughout the film. Just enough of the story is revealed to capture and sustain interest and this is achieved through a brilliantly crafted screenplay (Chachi) and a solid script (JM Raja) that makes use of wry and organic humour to soften the unrelenting tension of the events.
The characters are brilliantly and fully developed and it is a credit to the writer and director that so many of the characters end up being round characters. This is a magnificent feat for a film that has a running time of only 123 minutes.
Adding to this are the astounding acting performances from the entire cast. Sathish is a real revelation, unveiling a side of his acting repertoire not seen in his previous films. Pavel Navageethan as the abrasive ASI Basha is an absolute delight while Mime Gopi as Inspector Anand and Ajay Raj as SI Nagaraj also deliver unforgettable performances. Rithika Tamilselvi as Nivetha portrays her role without histrionics but still manages a memorable performance.
PG Muthaiya uses some long panning and tracking shots as well as some unusual angles to provide brilliant visual support to the film.
MS Jones Rupert has an impressive background score and also does well with the film’s two songs, both of which do not detract from the narrative.
Sattam en Kaiyil is a perfect example of how a fairly ordinary story can be turned into a riveting and breathless by the way the screenplay is derived and the way the film is scripted,
Sattam en Kaiyil is undoubtedly one of the best constructed thrillers I have seen in a long time.
Rating : 9 out of 10.
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