Kuruvi Movie Review

Cast: Vijay, Trisha, Suman, Vivek, Manivannan

Direction: Dharani

Production: Udayanidhi Stalin

Music: Vidyasagar

To give Dharani his due, Kuruvi is watchable in parts, for die-hard fans of Vijay. For ordinary viewers, the film lacks a basic story and stretches ones patience for nearly three hours.

The first half has bits and shreds of Mask of Zorro when the lead pair meet and romance, comedy elements and mix-up scenes from The French Kiss and post interval it looks like the Telugu film Chatrapati.

The story credited to Dharani looks dated, like an old 70’s and 80’s mass masala film. Where else can you show heroism in the form of the hero winning a car race, with an old jalopy, and then bursting into an introduction item song with the loser’s girl?

A big menacing villain, who can’t shoot straight, good guy father swearing that his son will come and eliminate the baddies, and one of the villains smashing his head with a stone which many years later the hero uses to kill the same villain!

Vetrivel (Vijay) alias Kuruvi is a happy go-lucky young man, who is a car racer. He lives on the banks of Cooum near a Metro rail station in a rickety old house, with his father’s three wives including his mother and sisters. His father Singamuthu (Manivannan) a quarry worker in Cuddaph had mysteriously disappeared.

One of his father’s creditors tries to vacate Vetrivel and family. Due to his financial circumstances he is forced to go to Malaysia as a ‘kuruvi’ (courier), and also recover some money due to his father from Kocha (Suman), who had betrayed his father who discovered a rare diamond in the granite quarry.

Kuruvi in his attempt to recover his dues ends up stealing Kocha’s, precious diamond, and also wins the heart of his sister Devi (Trisha), who runs away with him to Chennai to avoid a marriage with her brother’s henchman.

The rest of the film is how Kuruvi goes to Cuddaph and discovers a slave camp run by Kocha and his associate Konda Reddy (Ashutosh), at the collieries and also finds his long lost father. Kuruvi turns into a ‘Parunthu’ (eagle) and single handedly takes on the mining mafia and finally annihilates them.

The film has all your trademark superhero-movie elements- a larger-than-life hero, action scenes galore stretching for nearly 15 minutes per fight, punchlines like- 1. Pechu thaan silent, aana adikkira ovaru adiyum saravadi. (2) Idukium munnadi onnu varum, minnal athu 10,000 watts irukke, songs in exotic locations Thaen, Then…, watch out for Trisha’s chiffon sari’s and fantastic dancing by Vijay in the Mozha Mozhannu.. number.

If you're looking for a tight, razor-sharp, edge-of-the-seat action thriller like Ghilli, you've got the wrong film. But of course, if Kuruvi is salvaged to some extent, it's thanks to Vijay’s irresistible screen presence and his spontaneous approach to the character.

Trisha fits the bill and her comedy scenes are good. However, the film is painfully long and unbearably tedious as it is a predictable fare and has absolutely no story to speak. Writer-director Dharani’s sheer inability to set the tone of the film is evident.

Rating: 3 Stars on 5