Racer review: An interesting sports drama that fails to impress

Satz Rex’s directorial venture could have been a better watch but for the lacklustre races and poor casting.

ByManigandan KR

Published:Aug 18, 2023

Akhil Santhosh, Lavanya racer
A decent watch.
2.5

Racer (Tamil)

  • Cast: Akil Santhosh, Lavanya, Aaru Bala, Subramanian, Parvathy, Sarath, Nirmal, Sathish, Arvind, and Anees
  • Writer-Director: Satz Rex
  • Producer: Kartik Jayas (Hustlers Entertainment)
  • Music: Barath
  • Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes

Director Satz Rex’s Racer is a reasonably interesting sports entertainer that deals with the sport of racing. Satz Rex needs to be congratulated for attempting to explore a sport in his film that has seldom been touched by Tamil cinema until now.

Racer revolves around the life of a middle-class boy named Ashwin (Akil Santhosh) who develops a liking for bikes right from a young age. His love for bikes evolves into a dream of becoming a racer at one point in time.

However, like most other Indian parents who are concerned about the future of their children, Ashwin’s parents, too, discourage him from pursuing his dream. Instead, they ask him to opt for conventional courses. Ashwin relents.

By the time Ashwin is on the verge of completing college, he begs his dad to buy him at least a high-end model bike. After a lot of persuasions, his dad finally agrees to buy him a bike only to be stopped at the last moment by his colleague who says that investing in a car would be wiser than investing in a costly bike.

racer poster

A poster of ‘Racer’. (Twitter)

Eventually, Ashwin completes college and finds employment. It is at this point that he chooses to apply for a loan without his family’s knowledge to buy different electronic gadgets and a bike that he had always wanted to own.

To pay off the instalments, he begins to work additional hours by taking up a second job. However, the loan burden begins to wear him down.

Meanwhile, his friends tell him that the PRO Street Racing competition, a well-organised racing competition that has strict rules, is to be conducted in India as well.

The intensely contested racing competition has different stages and a huge sum of prize money.

Ashwin decides to compete. But when he goes to participate in the qualifying rounds, he finds that he is way behind other contenders, both in skill and training. What he does next is what the film is all about.

What works?

The story of Racer is neat, fresh and quite engaging.

Two factors play a significant role in ensuring this. First is the narration. The director presents the background of the story as a first-person account and that makes it easier for audiences to relate to the story.

Also Read: Kiran Abbavaram’s Meter movie review

Next, he uses humour to a good effect to keep the mood of the film light. Therefore, although the film has quite a bit of family drama and sentiment to offer, it does not come across as boring or heavy.

Racer also stands out for presenting fresh perspectives on youngsters being determined about the careers they want to pursue.

racer movie satz rex

A poster of Satz Rex’s ‘Racer’. (Twitter)

For instance, there is a sequence in the movie where the hero asks his friend if he can give him any guarantee that he will be born again if he dies.

When the friend says “No”, he replies, “That is exactly my point. I have only one life. I do not know if I will be born again. I have dreamt of becoming a racer all my life and this is what I want to do with it.”

He also points out that his dad wants him to live the life that he had dreamt for him instead of letting him live his dream.

The film makes a substantial point. It shows that parents in India, under the impression of doing their children a world of good by thinking for them what they should be, are being selfish.

They don’t realise that they are forcing their children to let go of their dreams to fulfil theirs!

The movie also showcases the responsibilities a middle-class boy is expected to shoulder.

Both Akil Santhosh and Lavanya stand out in terms of performance. They play their parts to perfection and make the film quite engaging.

The romantic sequences between the two are cute and quite enjoyable.

Also Read: August 16 1947 Tamil movie review

What doesn’t work?

Being a film on bike racing, one would have expected Racer to have at least one heart-thumping, adrenaline-pumping race to be showcased. However, all the races shown in the movie lack any intensity whatsoever.

But, considering the limited resources the team might have had at its disposal, this can be forgiven.

racer tamil film

A poster of ‘Racer’ movie. (Twitter)

Racer also has problems with its casting. For instance, it showcases three different stages in Ashwin’s life – a school-going boy, a college student and a working professional.

When the movie starts, Ashwin is shown as a boy.  A young boy plays this part then and is perfect for the role.

However, when Ashwin’s character is shown going to college, instead of casting a teenager, the director casts Akil Santhosh in the role.

Akil looks too old for the role at that point. He looks perfect for the same role at a later stage when the character becomes a working professional.

On the technical side, Racer has good songs and an apt background score.

Full marks to music director Bharath for only delivering what was necessary for the film.

Verdict

Despite its shortcomings, Racer is a decent entertainer. Even if it does not impress you, it won’t bore you!

(Views expressed are personal.)