Review: Rajini Murugan is Sivakarthikeyan's show all the way

Director Ponram’s Rajini Murugan has no real plot, nor any remarkable characters or poignant moments but good music, vibrant visuals and spontaneity and charm of its lead actor makes it a fun watch, writes S Saraswathi.

Television anchor-turned-actor Sivakarthikeyan is churning out hit after hit with seemingly no effort. He has worked with mostly debutant directors and scripts that can, at best, be described as average but this matters little to this fortunate actor.

Rajini Murugan is his second outing with director Ponram, who made his debut with the hugely successful Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, also starring Sivakarthikeyan.

The scripts are almost similar, the colourful rural backdrop, family sentiments, good-for-nothing hero, and the trite romance sustained by a whole lot of nonsensical fun.

As an afterthought, the director also throws in a social message to add some credibility to the film.

Produced by Lingusamy’s Thirrupathi Brothers banner, the film targets the expatriate Indian, who has left the country without a glance.

The film has the ever-dependable Rajkiran play Rajini Murugan’s (Sivakarthikeyan) grandfather. The lonely old man is yearning for his many sons, daughters and grandchildren, who have settled abroad. And while this may be the core of the story, the focus is on the crazy antics of Rajini Murugan to win the affections of Karthika (Keerthy Suresh).

The duo share a lively on-screen chemistry but it is the hilarious combination of Sivakarthikeyan and Soori that makes the film an enjoyable fare. Totally at ease with each other, the two bring down the house with their impeccable comic timing. With Superstar Rajinikanth’s name in the title, the director has loaded the film with innumerable references to the superstar’s many punch dialogues and popular songs, much to the delight of the audience.

The film moves without any direction until the end of the first half, when Ezharai Mukan (director Samuthirakani) enters their lives. A gutsy local rowdy, Ezharai is adept at extracting money from the rich with his nefarious ways. He antagonises Rajini Murugan when he claims the right to his grandfather’s property. 

With his dominant screen presence and acting versatility, director Samuthirakani is fast growing to be one of the most sought after actors of Tamil cinema, be it as a dreaded adversary, the honest cop or the widowed father.

Cinematographer Balasubramaniem has aptly captured the fun, chaos and colour of this lighthearted entertainer, while D Imman adds a lot of energy with his peppy compositions.

Director Ponram’s Rajini Murugan has no real plot, nor any remarkable characters or poignant moments, but good music, vibrant visuals and spontaneity and charm of its lead actor makes it a fun watch.

Rediff Rating: