Bhooloham is an action-packed entertainer

Director N. Kalyanakrishnan's Bhooloham is an action-packed entertainer that exposes how rampant commercialism is fast becoming the bane of our existence, says S Saraswathi.

Bhooloham is Jayam Ravi's fourth release in the last six months. This is quite an achievement for the young actor, who has had just one release every year since 2009. 

Ravi became the talk of the town after his last film, Thani Oruvan turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The actor follows it up with yet another exciting performance in director N Kalyanakrishnan's much-delayed Bhooloham. 

The film exposes the powerful men in the world of business, who control every aspect of our life. The director has cleverly weaved rampant commercialism and its influence on innocent consumers into the plot that actually revolves around the life of a boxer.

Bhooloham (Jayam Ravi) is an aggressive boxer from North Chennai. His father, also a boxer, commits suicide after an embarrassing defeat. He grows up with the tag of being a loser's son. His only goal in life is to kill the son of the boxer, who defeated his father.

Deepak (Prakash Raj) is a crafty TV channel owner, looking for some sensational news to boost his TRP ratings. He agrees to sponsor a boxing match between the two in anticipation of a death in the boxing ring.

News spreads like wild fire, boosting TRP and soon there is a long queue of sponsors ready to throw in crores of money to advertise their products, making Deepak a rich and happy man. 

The much-publicised match has Bhooloham almost kill his opponent. But even as he is battling for life at the hospital, Bhooloham has a change of heart. 

He wants to give up boxing, but Deepak has bigger plans for him. He wants Bhooloham to move to the national and the international arena.  How he manipulates and instigates him to fight a psychopathic boxer from United States forms the rest of the story.

The film moves at breakneck speed, interspersed with exciting boxing matches, action, comedy, sentiments and some romance. Jayam Ravi is truly a revelation, he has bulked up considerably and his physique lends much credibility to the character. Every punch seems packed with energy, and he is just as convincing with sentiments and romancing the lovely Trisha.

Prakash Raj makes a powerful antagonist and so does Australian actor Nathan Jones. All the other characters too are well chosen. The film is however let down by the poor background score by Srikanth Deva. 

There is an overdose of violence, and crude dialogues, but that was expected of a film based in North Chennai that is increasingly becoming a favorite haunt of directors.

While the film may not appeal to the family crowd, N Kalyanakrishnan's Bhooloham is certainly an action-packed entertainer with a fast paced narrative that keeps you engaged besides conveying an important social message.

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