Iraivan review: Director Ahmed delivers a grim, dark crime thriller

Director I Ahmed, best known for making feel-good entertainers like Manithan (2016) and Endrendrum Punnagai (2013), this time around delivers a grim, dark investigative thriller that revolves around psychopaths and cops.

Ahmed’s motive is evident in Iraivan. He wishes to shock audiences by the brutality of the crimes shown in the film and thereby gain their attention.

In fact, the director even succeeds in this mission to an extent. However, his problem lies in retaining this hard-won attention of the audience.

Before we get to discussing any more details, here is the synopsis.

Synopsis

Arjun (Jayam Ravi) and Andrew (Narain) are two competent police officers who are also good friends.

Arjun is single, fearless and has the ability to swiftly switch to being ruthless if need be.

Andrew has a wife Jasmine (Vijayalakshmi), daughter Sophia, and sister Priya (Nayanthara) to take care of. He is a little more cautious while dealing with criminals.

Life is pleasant for both friends until a difficult case is entrusted to them.

A vicious and brutal psychopath named Brahma (Rahul Bose), who kidnaps and tortures young girls to their deaths, is on the prowl. Brahma is an intelligent killer and considers himself God.

His acts, which usually result in decapitated bodies of victims being found in secluded areas, send shivers down the spine of not just young women but even the cops themselves.

After a long and arduous struggle, the police succeed in nabbing him but not before he manages to kill 11 girls. What is even more difficult to digest is that Andrew gets killed in the process of nabbing Brahma. His death leaves Arjun heartbroken.

With Andrew gone, Arjun resigns his job in the police force, sets up a coffee shop and moves in with Andrew’s family.

Just when things seem to be returning to normal for Arjun and the city, Brahma escapes from prison, and young girls begin to die in a horrible fashion again.

What happens then is what Iraivan is all about.

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A promising start

To Ahmed’s credit, Iraivan starts on a promising note, with the gruesome crimes actually managing to get you interested in the plot.

Bollywood actor Rahul Bose, who plays psychopath Brahma, looks the part and instils fear in the minds of the audiences.

Up until this point, you have no problem buying what Ahmed intends to sell. But the problem begins just after the crimes are committed.

Sequences pertaining to the investigation of the crimes have been poorly conceived. They aren’t convincing and appear superficial.

In fact, there is no single substantial investigative scene in the film until the 11th victim gets murdered.

Part of the joy in watching an investigative thriller comes from knowing how cops add small pieces of evidence at the scene of the crime to arrive at the big picture.

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– https://t.co/RXA2J2uOdo@actor_jayamravi #Nayanthara @Ahmed_filmmaker @thisisysr @PassionStudios_ @eforeditor @jacki_art @Dophari @Synccinema @MangoPostIndia… pic.twitter.com/GfJMU5bMuz

— Junglee Music South (@JungleeMusicSTH) September 13, 2023

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Doesn’t delve deep

The audience is eager to know how cops first find the motive of the psychopath, study his style of functioning and then spot his or her weaknesses, if any.

Sadly, Iraivan does not delve deep into any of these aspects.

The investigation bit comes into the picture only when the daughter of a fellow policeman (Charlie) is kidnapped, and that is enthralling to watch.

In particular, Arjun’s deduction about the victim being kept in a car parked at the scene of crime for three hours by the psychopath is just fantastic.

The logic is that the psychopath is aware that cops, who are looking for any suspicious vehicles, only check CCTV footage around the scene of the crime for only an hour from the time of the crime being committed. That probably is one of the highlights of the movie.

The second half of Iraivan is much better than the first as the plot thickens and we get to know that Brahma is just one part of the problem.

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Performances

Iraivan has some fine performances to offer.

Jayam Ravi as Arjun does a neat, impressive job. He seems very comfortable in the role of a determined cop and easily slips into the skin of the character.

Rahul Bose, Vinod Kishen, Naren, Vijayalakshmi, and Charlie too come up with fantastic performances that add immense value to the plot.

Nayanthara has no problem playing the part of Priya, a girl who says she can fall in love with no one else other than Arjun.

Hari K Vedanth’s visuals and Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music are huge pluses that help the film’s credibility.

Editor Manikanda Balaji could have been a little more ruthless and tightened the story even further. His leniency seems to make the film appear a tad too long, and this, in turn, gives the impression that the story is being unnecessarily stretched.

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— Passion Studios (@PassionStudios_) September 14, 2023

Verdict

Despite its drawbacks, Iraivan is still a decent attempt at filmmaking.

However, be warned that the film is a grim, intense crime thriller that has little to offer in terms of light-hearted entertainment.

(Views expressed here are personal.)