Scene Movie Review

After a rough patch over the last few years, Suriya got back on the success track this year with two successful films, Karuppu and Vishwanath and Sons, and also acted in another film, Scene, directed by Malayalam film director Jithu Madhavan. Right from the announcement, the film with Jithu Madhavan generated a lot of hype because of the success of the director’s last two films, Romancham and Aavesham. Expectations grew further when the current youth sensation, Naslen, was brought on board to play a crucial role and Nazriya Nazim’s name was announced as the female lead. Expectations rose further after the makers released the teaser and trailer. It is one of those very rare films that gave a blockbuster feeling throughout its making. After promoting the film over the last two weeks, the makers released the film in theatres today on the occasion of Diwali. Did Suriya score a success with, Scene and complete a hat-trick this year? Did the director, Jithu Madhavan, continue his success streak with yet another crowd favourite film? How did, Naslen, do in a negative role? How did the pair of Suriya and Nazriya Nazim look on screen? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

A colleague at the Chennai Crime Branch unit, questions the authenticity of a case closed by Inbaraj(Suriya), an eccentric police officer, a few years ago. Inbaraj accepts the challenge and starts to re-investigate the case. Who is doing the murders in a similar pattern when the accused in the ‘perfume killer’ case is in jail already? Who is Eswaran (Naslen) and what is his relation to the ‘perfume killer’? Is Eswaran really related to the ‘perfume killer’ or is he just using the same pattern in killing people, to divert the police department’s focus? What is the physical disability, Inbaraj, deals with? How did he cover up his disability for many years? How did, Inbaraj, solve the case? Who is Maya(Nazriya Nazim) and how did she help, Inbaraj? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Suriya appeared to have enjoyed playing the role of Inbaraj. He looked like a million bucks as always and gave a very lovable performance. It looked so good to see him in an author-backed role without the weight of meeting the demands of the ‘commercial hero’. Naslen in the role of an uber-cool psycho killer gave a very entertaining performance. He looked self-aware, as always and lived his role. In particular, in his face-off with Suriya during the climax episode, he did not show any signs of consciousness. It looked very good to see both Suriya and Nasleen going against each other during the climax.

Nazriya Nazim as always was a treat to watch in the role of, Maya. She too got an author-backed role and she made use of it fully. She also got a chance to flex her muscles in an action episode and she looked like a live wire during that action episode. Lal in the role of the chief of the crime branch unit, did a superb job with his comedy timing. He generated quite a few laughs, especially in the first half. Anandaraj in the role of the hero’s father made his experience count, though his character was written very conveniently. Rajpriyan and Suresh Mathiyalagan in the roles of inspectors generated a few laughs here and there. Tovino Thomas in an extended cameo and Jyothika in a blink-and-a-miss cameo, made their presence felt.

Technicalities:

Sushin Shyam’s music was superb. His songs blended well with the proceedings and his background score elevated the proceedings very well. Especially, during the twist reveal episodes and thrilling moments, he came up with a very intriguing and adrenaline-filled score thumping background score. Vineeth Augustian’s cinematography was pretty good. The entire film was shot in a limited number of locations but the cinematographer made sure to give a very pleasant and authentic look to the film. Ajmal Sabu’s editing was alright starting from the pre-interval sequence, However, a bit more care in editing would have been taken during the initial portions of the film.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Screenplay At Most Parts
2.⁠ ⁠Suriya & Naslen’s Performance
3.⁠ ⁠Background Score
4.⁠ ⁠A Couple of Twists

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Proceedings During The Initial 20 Minutes
2.⁠ ⁠A Bit Too Convenient Writing
3.⁠ ⁠Predictable Climax

Analysis:

There are quite a few positives and a few flaws in ‘Scene’, but before discussing those in detail, Suriya, Naslen and Jithu Madhavan, should be appreciated wholeheartedly for believing in such an out-of-the-box idea and executing it without falling into the trap of a commercial formula. Only a director who has immense self-belief in his writing and directing abilities can dare to write such a script for a star hero with an immense Fan following in South India. Only a star hero, who has immense respect for his audience and is secure enough to trust the director, can agree to play the lead role in a film like, Scene. And, only a young hero who is mad about cinema and believes in his own talent, can agree to play an uber-cool antagonist role, at a time when he is building a brand for himself in the protagonist roles. More importantly, all three of them did not underestimate the audience. They believed the audience would always appreciate an out-of-the-box film as long as it is narrated interestingly. And, the result is a simple, no-nonsense, unapologetic and a bit eccentric quirky comedy film which is entertaining in most parts.

The entire first half of the film was built around two twists. We get to see the first twist around thirty minutes into the film and the second twist during the pre-interval sequence. The proceedings during the initial portions make you feel a bit over the top and make no sense. However, once the first twist is revealed, everything we saw until that moment, makes complete sense. The same happened with the second twist as well. The introduction of the lead actor’s father and mother characters out of nowhere made no sense initially but we get to see the importance of their characters when the second twist during the pre-interval sequence was revealed. The writer and the director, Jithu Madhavan, tried to generate comedy using the disabilities or the personal traits of the characters, but those comedy portions worked in a few places and did not work at times. Because of this unevenness in writing, the film gives the feeling of a bumpy ride during the first half at times. However, the director made sure to come up with a superbly written and executed pre-interval sequence to end the first half on a very thrilling note.

The film picked up the pace after the reveal of the first twist, then got into top gear during the pre-interval sequence and continued the pace up until the climax. The director gave every character a unique trait or a disability and used these traits perfectly in the screenplay to thrill the audience at regular intervals. The best thing that happened to the film is Suriya. He looked so relaxed, cool and surrendered to the demands of the script. When was the last time we saw a star hero’s film where the lead actor teared up by thinking about his vulnerabilities and shortcomings? When was the last time we got to see an action episode featuring the female lead actress in a star hero’s film? When was the last time we got to see a protagonist beat the hell out of the lead actor in a star hero’s film? – Suriya trusted the script and his director’s vision and agreed to do or allow all the aforementioned things in the film. In an era where the star heroes are doing only the ‘saving the world/saving the country/saving the community’, in the name of pan-India films, it was so refreshing to see Suriya playing the role of Inbaraj in the film.

On the flip side, Jithu Madhavan’s writing at times appeared too convenient. Naslen’s character was shown as a street-smart psycho killer throughout the film but in the climax, he falls into the trap of Suriya’s character rather easily. The hero’s father’s character also suffers from the convenient writing issue. The trait given to the character appeared only to make him passive for some time to elevate the lead character. Also, after coming up with multiple thrilling moments throughout the second half, the decision to go ahead with a run-of-the-mill action episode, appeared a bit underwhelming. Suriya and Naslen’s face-off and histrionics were entertaining during the action episode but some other unusual and out-of-the-box idea for the climax, would have made the film even better. Along with the convenient writing, a bit more care would have been taken in writing the quirky comedy part. Though, the comedy worked in parts, at times it felt forced, especially during the initial portions of the film.

Overall, Suriya, Jithu Madhavan and the team to a great extent, delivered what they promised. If you like films which are made with out-of-the-box ideas that offer thrilling moments devoid of typical commercial formulaic tropes, the good chances of you liking, Scene. There was a bit of unevenness in the writing, especially during the first half, but Jithu Madhavan, made sure to overshadow the flaws with his trademark screenplay and thrilling moments at regular intervals. And yes, during the end credits, there was a hint given for a possible sequel and in all likelihood, Suriya and Jithu Madhavan are sure to do the sequel very soon.

Bottom line – Entertaining. But, Uneven

Rating – 2.5/5

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