Review: Test Tests Your Patience

With a better script, Test could have been a compelling relationship drama. Instead, it only tests your patience, complains Mayur Sanap.

In the opening sequence of Test, we see an out-of-form cricketer grappling with two choices: To continue with the only sport he loves or give it up.

The cricketer is called Arjun and is played by Siddharth.

But this is not his story alone.

There's Kumudha played by Nayanthara. She is a teacher who wants to become a mother. She is married to Saravanan, played by R Madhavan, a struggling scientist on the lookout for funds for his ambitious environmental project.

Kumudha and Saravanan are trying to conceive a child via IVF while balancing their financial needs.

Kumudha meets Arjun at her school where his son studies. They happened to be childhood friends, who grew distant over time.

As the story progresses, these three lives intertwine and each one faces a difficult choice.

Test cricket is a metaphor for life here and also a leitmotif in the story.

Debutant director S Sashikanth, who has also written the story with Suman Kumar, aims for fascinating character studies of choices and consequences but the writing is so inert and lacking any complex touches that you barely stay invested.

This is further hurt by a sudden plot spin, much like Shakun Batra's misfire Gehraiyaan, that mutates the story into something else entirely.

When you say 'I didn't see that coming', you obviously want to be amazed by the plot twist. But here, you are just amused by glossy soap opera-like appeal.

The star cast doesn't bring any respite either, as all three lead performances feel stilted because of their half-done characters.

You wonder what made Kumudha choose Saravanan even though the story briefly notes that her father initially opposed their relationship.

The Kumudha-Arjun track also feels contrived, without any proper arc to their characters.

There's barely any focus on Arjun's wife Padma, played by Meera Jasmine, whose emotional outburst feels unconvincing.

With a better script, Test could have been a compelling relationship drama. Instead, it is an empty vessel about a moral conundrum that only tests your patience.

Test streams on Netflix.