| Release date : 05 July 2013 | ||
| 123telugu.com Rating : 3/5 | ||
| Director : Hari | ||
| Producer : S. Lakshman Kumar | ||
| Music Director : Devi Sri Prasad | ||
| Starring : Suriya, Anushka, Hansika |
Tamil Hero Suriya has reprised the role of daring cop Narasimham in ‘Singam’. The movie is a sequel to the successful ‘Yamudu’ and it has released across the world today. Anushka and Hansika are the heroines in the film and Hari is the director. Let us see if Suriya’s power packed performance helps the film.
Story :
Narasimham (Suriya) goes undercover with the intention of tracking the illegal activities of some sea based gangs in Kakinada. He manages to convince everyone, including his parents, that he is no longer a cop and joins a school as an NCC officer. He starts a covert surveillance program on the activities of dreaded smuggler Bhai (Mukesh Rishi) and uncovers the secrets of their operation.
Meanwhile, Sathya (Hansika) is a student in the same school and she falls in love with Narasimham. She also happens to be the niece of Thyagaraju (Rahman), a rich businessman who heads the Golden Shipping company. Thyagaraju and Bhai come across as enemies.
Once Narasimham has the necessary evidence on hand to round up the gang, he comes out of his cover identity and assumes charge as a DSP. He starts rounding up the gang members and comes to know about the ruthless international drug kingpin Danny (African Actor). Narasimham also discovers some truths about Bhai and Thyagaraju.
Will Narasimham be able to stop Danny and his drug operation? What does he lose in the process? That forms the rest of the story.
Plus Points :
Suriya has delivered a solid and power packed performance as a tough and honest cop. He has done complete justice to the role and viewers will be able to feel the intensity of his performance. He looks quite handsome as always. Anushka looks glamorous. Hansika is ok.
Vijaykumar has given a neat performance as the Home Minister. Santhanam entertains to a certain extent with his one liners. Vivek brings about a few laughs as inspector Jamadagni.
There are some highly emotional and intense sequences in the film. The pace of narration picks up dramatically after Suriya takes charge as a cop and the powerful one liners will entertain crowds in B and C centers.
Some of the fight sequences are good. A few car chase sequences have been shot well. The production team took care about certain aspects to give the film a local touch. For example, the cars and bikes have Andhra Pradesh number plates instead of Tamil Nadu plates.
Minus Points :
‘Yamudu’ worked well because it had an emotionally involving story line. With ‘Singam’, everything is quite superficial and the police drama is also a little one sided. Anushka has absolutely nothing to do in the film. She just comes in during songs.
The game of one-upmanship between Suriya and Prakash Raj in ‘Yamudu’ is what made that film quite entertaining. While Rahman, Mukesh Rishi and the African actor have given decent performances, they do not offer any significant resistance to Suriya.
The film is very long and viewers may start getting restless towards the climax. Some scenes are unnecessarily dragged out. Also, there are too many fights and chases in the film.
The film is very loud, in typical Tamil style.
Technical Aspects :
Cinematography is ok. Songs have been shot colourfully. Screenplay is quite good in the first half, but it could have been better in the closing stages of the movie. The editor should have cut out the slack in the second half. Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is decent.
One can see Hari’s trademark style when it comes to direction. He has succeeded in getting the intensity and the emotions right. But he should have left out some unnecessary details.
Verdict :
‘Singam’ is an intense and loud cop drama. Suriya has delivered a superb performance and there are some very good moments in the film. However, the very long runtime of the movie, a story that is superficial and too many fights bring down the overall viewing experience a bit. You may give this film a shot, but don’t go in with high expectations.
123telugu.com Rating – 3/5
Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru
