Irumbu Thirai: This Vishal, Samantha starrer is solid and very topical, relevant

Director: P.S. Mithran

Cast: Vishal, Arjun, Samantha, Delhi Ganesh, Robo Shankar

Irumbu Thirai is a cyber-crime thriller that rapidly changes tone with the press of a button. Featuring Vishal, who continues on a strong path involving puzzles and mind games from Thupparivaalan, the film is a back-and-forth action sequence that happens largely through the push of knobs.

Arjun Sarja plays the White Devil aka Sathyamoorthy and he can perceive almost anything. A keyboard or a smartphone would suffice for this man who believes that networks and hacking can alter the world order. Naturally, he’s also a complicated sociopath who feels like he has the powers of a god. White Devil comes across the short-tempered army major Kathiravan (Vishal), who when cornered for cash, acquires it through shady means.

Also read: Vishal was keen to portray villain in Irumbu Thirai: Mithran

Like the ever growing list of banking and database crimes taking place in the real world, Kathir gets a shock when his ill-gotten gains vanishes from his bank account. The transgressor, of course, is the same old White Devil. What’s Kathir to do here? Approaching the police won’t work as they’d soon discover the source of his funds. And although in a moral bind due to his criminal wrongdoings, Kathir nonetheless takes up the issue and in his investigations, uncovers a web of phone hacking that demands some justice to be served.

Irumbu Thirai is light on the direct encounters and heavy on building suspense. Security defects in smart phones and websites play an integral role in building this thrill. You’ll be kept wondering as a con man can only be defeated by an equally conniving opponent. Kathiravan needs to play 4D chess to beat the devil.

Vishal fits into the outfit of an army major very well. He is measured in his moves and emotional when situation demands. Samantha as Kathir’s psychologist gives crucial insights and helps build character. She also moves the plot along as Kathir blurts out more and more info, although her screen space is limited. Delhi Ganesh in a well written role, as usual proves his versatility as Vishal’s father. For once, Robo Shankar’s one-liners are enjoyable. However, it is ace Arjun, as the cool and suave White Devil, who appears only post interval, who steals the show.

Also read: Irumbu Thirai gets huge welcome to Mollywood

PS Mithran’s directorial debut has succeeded in presenting us a believable technological film with undertones of plausible explanation. The writing is smart and the detailing has been done meticulously. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background score is superb while camera work by George C. Williams is riveting.

Irumbu Thirai is a solid film that is very topical and relevant in our day and age. Facebook, Aadhaar, state-sponsored online propaganda, database hacks – you’re bound to read something related to these topics everyday on the news. For these reasons, Irumbu Thirai will remain relevant in the months to come.