“Test” Film Review (Now streaming on Netflix)

From Thamizh Padam to Kaadhalil Sodhupuvadhu Yeppadi to Vaayai Moodi Pesavum to Irudhi Suttru to to Vikram Vedha, Mandela or Aelay, the production company YNOT Studios has shown a willingness to back a wide variety of genres, themes and directors. It is therefore not surprising that when the founder of the company, S. Sashikanth, decided to make his foray into scripting and writing, he was determined to match the standards of his previous productions.

Sashikanth signed up R.Madhavan, Siddharth, Nayanthara and Jasmine to play the core lead roles, supported by Kaali Venkat, Vinay Varma, Aadukalam Murugadoss, Mohan Raman, Naasar, MJ Sriram and Ajit Koshy.

An out-of-form test cricket legend, an absent father, a struggling inventor in search of his big break, a school teacher with an idealistic view of life, the plight of a childless couple, a desperate match-fixing syndicate all converge in Sashikanth’s tense and aptly-titled film Test, which sadly skipped a theatrical release and released directly on Netflix.

The premise is excellent, the story well fleshed out and the precision of the development of the story arcs chiselled to minute perfection. However, Test has a lot more to offer its viewers.

Even the best stories need a credible backdrop, believable and flawed characters and a crisp but hard hitting script. Sashikanth delivers all of these with detailed perfection.

The film follows the pace of a cricket test match, with the first half establishing the odds, the challenges, the expected heroes, the desired results and the importance of achieving them. In exactly the same vein, the characters are roundly developed through an organic expansion of the story. The script flows naturally and stays well away from corny and predictable exchanges. Instead, each minute of the film prepares the audience for the tense drama that comes from the clashes of giants – in this case, personifications of different types of success. Like a tense test match, the audience frequently gets belted with a six via the script, ensuring rapt engagement until the rolling of the credits.

It is impossible to fault the charged performances of every member of the cast of Test.

R. Madhavan is more than electrifying and, his level of excellence reaches loftier heights as the film progresses. The changing voice modulation, voice timbre and body language as the character of Saravanan evolves is an enchanting and riveting experience purely because of Madhavan’s skill and finesse. This is a role that ought to be rewarded with multiple awards.

Matching this intensity is a very spirited and soulful performance from Siddharth whose portrayal of the fading cricket legend, Arjun, shows an intensity that usually comes with long drawn-out flashbacks. Instead, Siddharth relies on body language, voice intonation and expressive eyes to convey the many complex emotions required of the role.

This is undoubtedly Nayanthara’s best acting performance ever. Normally, her roles oscillate largely between two expressions – perplexed or vexed – but her performance in this film, for the first time, brings out the talented actress in her.

Meera Jasmine, who returns to the screen after a full decade, has a limited screen presence compared to the others but still ensures that her portrayal of Padma Arjun remains one of the film’s memorable characters. She achieves this with histrionics or melodrama.

Kaali Venkat can always be depended upon to augment any film and his portrayal of Bharani does not disappoint. The portrayal is characterised by a very realistic handling of a complex and well-rounded character.

Aadukalam Murugadoss does a superb job of his portrayal of Kutty while Vinay Varma has an imposing screen presence.

Mohan Ram makes a welcome return to the screen with his portrayal of Arjun’s father who plays a pivotal role in the screenplay.

The brilliant acting performances have been made possible by one of the best scripts in recent years. The exchanges are raw, moving, realistic and quite punchy without a filmy quality. Full credit must go to Sashikanth and his co-writer, Suman Kumar whose brilliant script forms part of an example of how a linear screenplay can be transformed into riveting entertainment if intelligently handled.

Playback singer, Shakthisree Gopalan, makes her debut as a music composer in Test and she does brilliantly in the background score, but her songs were quite disappointing.

Cinematographer Viraj Singh Gohil deserves every accolade for his contribution to this film which is filled with spectacular shots, unusual framing and marvellous use of light and lighting.

Test has all the drama, passion, intensity and tension that a good test match in cricket can provide, translated into the real world. This glimpse into a somewhat exclusive world shows the universality of human experience, making this film accessible and relevant to all.

Test scores 10 points out of 10.