The film is a gangster action drama set in the ruthless underworld of mafia conflicts. It centers on Kamal Haasan, a formidable and powerful gang leader.

The plot truly kicks off when Kamal Haasan rescues and adopts a young boy played by Silambarasan TR during a violent gang war, raising him as his own son.

Years later daughter of Nassar, who is Sakthivel’s (Kamal) brother, tragically takes her own life after being cheated by Mahesh Manjrekar nephew, a rival gang leader.

Silambarasan captures the nephew for revenge, and Kamal Haasan ultimately kills him. This act leads to Kamal’s imprisonment, leaving Silambarasan in charge of the empire.After a series of incidents, Kamal Haasan is released from the prison, but he observes that the dynamics in his empire has shifted and now everyone is treating Silambarasan as the new leader.

This leads a direct clash between Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan. What transpires between the duo and how it ends forms the core plot of the movie.

Directed by Mani Ratnam, the gangster drama is intriguing and the plot is engaging. The movie has all the touches of Mani Ratnam’s classic screenplay. Though the narration is slow at times, it does not become dull.

Kamal Haasan is in top notch form and has delivered a fabulous performance, especially in the de-aged flashback scenes.

Silambarasan steals the show with a nuanced and fiery performance, carrying the entire movie when Kamal Haasan is off-screen.

With an ensemble of cast including Trisha, Joju George, Ashok Selvan and Abiraami, each of them have carried their role in a convincing manner and helped in taking the plot forward.

AR Rahman’s musical work is solid and is on par with international standards. Ravi K. Chandran’s cinematography is stunning and is one of the major strengths of the movie.

Rest of the technical aspects of the movie are good as well.

Rating: 3.5/5