We're just done with the Lok Sabha elections but Kollywood still has a lot to say on politics, politicians, corporate companies, voters, freebies and every other associated topic that we've seen on screen in recent years. The only novelty here is that it comes from Selvaraghavan, a director who is known to reinvent and give us stories that are pretty intense, whether the politics of his narratives appeals to you or not. NGK, however, feels like the high end version of RJ Balaji's LKG, which released a few months ago and had a successful run at the box-office.
Kumaran (Suriya), like every other Tamil hero worth his salt, is a young man who gets into politics to change the system. What was his previous career, you ask? An M Tech guy turned organic farmer (if you didn't see that coming, you've only watched Japanese films all your life). The reasons for his shift are many and shown to us like flashcards - an old man roughed up by an MLA, ordinary people waiting for months to get a signature from the Collector etc. So, when he's drawn into the system somewhat unwillingly, he decides to give it his best shot.
Like Pudupettai, which offered us a realistic glimpse of the lives of gangsters, NGK attempts to do the same with low rung politicians. Ilavarasu is terrific as Pandiyan, the MLA to whom Kumaran has to suck up if he's to make it big in the party. At this point, NGK still looks promising because we're led to believe that we'll see Kumaran rising above the humiliations (one of his tasks is to pour a bucket of water into the toilet after Pandiyan has used it) and manipulate the system to his benefit. And this is exactly where Selvaraghavan goes with the film, except Kumaran would have to be a kangaroo to leap across the giant plot holes. People get murdered in front of television cameras (Srivilliputhur, by the way, has a very proactive media) and nothing much happens although it's election time. The police stand around like sirripu police, coming only after everything is over, like the '90s cliche of the force. And Kumaran, despite Suriya trying his best, isn't quite a convincing underdog - the journey seems too easy, too convenient.
Sai Pallavi and Rakul face off as the two women in Kumaran's life. Sai Pallavi plays a fierce Geetha who is possessive of her husband while Rakul plays Vanathi, closely modelled on Priya Anand's role in LKG as the cold-blooded head of a data anayltics team that helps political parties win elections. The two women would have made for interesting characters if only they'd been given more screen time, especially Sai Pallavi who deserved a better deal than oscillate between coy smiles and sudden outbursts. She makes her presence felt in the few scenes that she gets, but the relationship between Geetha and Kumaran remains under-developed. So, when things start changing between the two of them, we're not particularly moved. Rakul's is an unusual character - a woman who demands sex from a man in exchange for favours - but Vanathi too gets lost in the meandering plot.
The second half of NGK suggests that Selva is going to pull the rug from under our feet, jolting us with a surprise which will make sense of everything we've watched - the random fight scenes, the murders, the political chit-chat. But...there's not much. NGK is about a good man who joins politics and becomes someone who will stop at nothing to achieve his ambition. On paper, that sounds like an exciting story, but the ordinary writing makes this descent look improbable and unconvincing, despite Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score gamely trying to keep us hooked.
NGK leaves you with a heavy dose of deja vu and that seems like such a waste, considering the talent on board. It's high time that Tamil cinema directors moved away from the tiring farmer + wannabe CM formula because every second release is starting to look like the remake of the last film that hit the box-office.Can the audience please vote for a change? Let's make Tamil cinema great again.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.