Imaikka Nodigal – Tamil Movie Review | Anurag Kashyap, Nayanthara

When Hollywood and even Bollywood has a huge list of Serial killer movies to boost, Kollywood has always been a step behind in this particular genre and even most attempts in this genre tend to be lame most of the time but, Imaikka Nodigal, directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu & produced by Cameo films, is a nail-biting thriller with a lot of edge-of-the-seat moments.

As in case of such thrillers, the one-line of the movie is about a probably psychotic, copy-cat serial killer taunting a CBI officer about his recent string of murders. Why he does that and what makes him to do that forms the rest of the story. But what makes Imaikkaa Nodigal, a special and incredible thriller is the screenplay and the impressive cast.

With a very talented ensemble like Nayanthara, Anurag Kashyap, Atharvaa, Raashi Kanna and Vijay Sethupathi (Extended Cameo), there was no doubt about the performances even before the movie began. Nayanthara has given an impressive performance and she is clearly doing justice to her tag as \”Lady Super Star\” with every new movie and in Imaikka Nodigal, she has enough space to emote multiple emotions and also, rock various impressive costumes (Special mention to costume designer – Poorthi Pravin). Vijay Sethupathi comes in an extended cameo and tries to steal thunder from every other actor with his dialogue delivery and strong screen presence.

Atharvaa and Raashi Kanna has done a decent job and play their roles perfectly, except for Atharvaa\’s perfect hair and even perfect legs, despite whatever is happening in the movie. However, Anurag Kashyap steals the show and grabs the MVP award even with likes of Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara being in the movie. His cold eyes and delirious antics make the viewers go all ga-ga and we could even witness the audience clapping hands in few scenes like the Mortuary conversation with Atharvaa.

Technically, Imaikka Nodigal is so strong that it brings few so-called \”high-budget\” movies to shame. The two people who deserve the mention the most are DoP R.D. Rajasekhar and editor Bhuvan Srinivasan. RDR\’s shot selections are aesthetic and also, classy while the color palette mostly remains in darker shades, reminding the movie is a thriller. Also, many thrillers go through some dull moments due to the backstories or persistent cat-and-mouse chases, but, Bhuvan gives his best, to make sure the movie is evenly paced and keeps the audience at the edge.

HipHop Tamizha\’s BGM is another perfect addition to the movie and their music combined with the above-mentioned camera work and editing, makes even the tacky and illogical stunt scenes look stunning.

On the negative side, however, one could not say the same for the songs, as the song placements are a big dud to the pace of the long movie of over 170 minutes. Also, the movie has some logical loopholes and continuity issues which might be overlooked by the common audience.

Overall, Imaikka Nodigal is one proper thriller movie, which has enough content for cinema lovers and common audience both and is worth watching.

If you have already watched the movie, tell us your favorite character with the reason why.