We often fret over life's challenges. However, what if those worries pale in comparison to a sudden upheaval, like a war that decimates our country? This is the crux of Hiphop Tamizha Adhi’s third directorial, Kadaisi Ulaga Por. In fact, Natty, who plays a Kingmaker in the film, even says, “Kingmaker naalum usurukku onnu naa odi dhaan aaganum." With a lot of satire true to Adhi’s style and a well-thought storyline, Kadaisi Ulaga Por has no dull moments. While the film offers a thought-provoking narrative and Adhi's signature satirical humour, its ambitious scope occasionally leads to jarring tonal shifts and uneven character development.
Ever since Adhi started twirling his moustache with style in Meesaya Murukku, he has never shied away from heroism. In Kadaisi Ulaga Por too there’s no doubt that he is the hero. While the film starts with a lengthy voiceover by actor Nataraj (whose character is also named Nataraj/Natty), when the title card rolls up, we see a heroic Adhi emerging from light and shadows (quite literally as he runs away from a fire). In another scene, when a silent Thamizharasan (Adhi) transforms into a fighter, we see the lights turning red and the music indicating a mass moment as the actor gets battle-ready. With this film, Adhi has tried his hand at subtle heroism. Neither does he orate lengthy philosophical dialogues, nor does he walk with the attitude of a hero. While such heroism works initially, it later becomes problematic when his character goes on to do things beyond acceptable suspension of disbelief.
The writing fails Adhi’s heroism because there’s not much backstory to who he is. Adhi’s Thamizh is a man who can save a group of girls from a tiger, create a master plan to defeat the top brass of a superpower nation, and also generate electricity from CDs. Maybe, all of this is possible but without a convincing backstory, these scenes hardly connect with us. Unfortunately, the only reasoning we get is that he was an orphan who grew up in a home and later in the wild, thereby making him independent from day one. This doesn’t really help us suspend our disbelief when a military major, two political leaders, a kingmaker, and policemen choose to let go of all their ideas and implicitly follow Thamizh’s orders.
On the contrary, Hiphop Adhi has taken a lot of time to pen Natty’s character, a kingmaker, meticulously. The film starts and ends with the voiceover of the character. As someone who has no conscience, Natty’s Kingmaker Nataraj steals the show with well-written dialogues, a tinge of satire, and a brilliant performance. In a conversation between his character and Anagha’s Keerthana, he says, “Unga appa va CM aakarthukku kaaga katchi ah vangitom.” When she asks how, he smugly replies, “Aama chinnam dhaane Katchi? chinnatha vaangitom.” However, even for his character, there’s a very abrupt and almost overtly predictable transformation, that cuts down on the fun that his diabolical energy initially brought to the film. Even as a plot convenience, this tonal shift is quite jarring.
Apart from these issues, the film still manages to entertain us throughout. As opposed to contrived mass moments, Adhi has tried to work out some organic commercial elements in the film, that are also conveyed humorously at times. Like when a character machos up and strikes a bald villain with a wooden log and the latter doesn’t budge, the same sequence cracks us up as the music changes the mood. Adhi, who is not new to satire, has written a lot of these moments and has made the mood light even when the theme is as serious and sensitive as war and life loss. Special mention to the film’s VFX and music. A lot of the film’s bombastic moments are heavily reliant upon VFX and production design, which the makers have executed brilliantly. If the darker side in you has ever wondered how an entirely destructed Chennai would look like, then Kadaisi Ulaga Por gives you the answer. Similarly, the background score plays a heavy role in ensuring the film’s overall entertainment. Even in portions where the screenplay takes a dip, the score keeps us alive and entertained.
Replete with many interesting ideas, Kadaisi Ulaga Por still suffers from inconsistent execution. The entire first half carefully and slowly builds the world of local Tamil Nadu politics from Natty’s perspective. The entire second half ends up becoming another film altogether, with the microscopic view shifting to an eagle’s eye view of human existence and survival. With several political ideas like communism, how a king/politician is made, lobbyism, nuclear power, and more, the film feels like an overwhelming mixed pot, waiting to boil over. At a point, the political commentary in the film goes over your head because of how fast-paced the information is being conveyed.
At the end of the day, the film constantly manages to make you laugh and keep you entertained. Initially, you would expect the film to offer a heavy dose of political sermons with a side of science fiction. While it did offer these things, the film's action and thriller portions turned out to be the most entertaining. It reminds you of Natty’s dialogue, “Makkal ku enna theva mu makkal ke theriyadhu.” This film gives us the entertainment we need, even if not in the way we want it.
