Khiladi - Movie Review

Vishal, who played in several films with action backdrop, has tried his hand for an image makeover in Khiladi. He has changed himself into a cool Casanova, who gets hooked to girls quite easily and comfortably. He is ably assisted by Santhanam. While Vishal has played an upper-middle class youth, who is choosy in his life. Neetu Chandra, Sarah Jane Dias and Tanushree Datta played three girls from different genre. Directed by a debutant director Thiru, the film proved a romantic entertainer mostly aimed at attracting the youth and at the same time wooed front-benchers too.

Story:
Karthik (Vishal) is a business graduate. He is the only son and his parents pamper him a lot. He is choosy about his priorities right from his childhood. He always thinks more than once before selecting anything, be it clothing or accessories. He takes decisions only after going through all options. He applies the same procedure even for choosing his life partner. Karthik comes across three beautiful girls Jyothi (Tanushree Dutta), Priya (Sarah Jane Dias) and Tejaswini (Neetu Chandra). Jyothi is a sports woman and is a feminist. She unintentionally gets hooked on to Karthik. Even as Karthik decides to settle with her, he gets more options like Priya, who has traditional ideas and believes in cultural values. Then he comes across Tejaswini, a millionaire in the town. Interestingly, all the three lose their hearts to Karthik. However, while selecting one among them, Karthik gets fixed following certain incidents and what happened later and what kind of twist in the story have to be seen on the screen.

Performance:
Vishal, who has done this film for an image make-over, has almost succeeded in his attempt. He suited the character perfectly. The director has penned the character in such a way that it has everything for a hero to do. Especially, the hero attracts the limelight in trendy costumes. However, the comical dialogues penned for his character, did not suit him at times and he needs to work on expressions when he delivers them. Of the heroines, Sarah Jane Dias is good to watch. Her pleasant looks will win the hearts of audiences. Neetu Chandra tried her best to expose her glamour to the maximum possible extent, while Tanushri Datta is apt for the character. Among others, Santhanam has given his best to tickle the funny bones of audiences. Mouli, Prakash Raj and Mayilsamy have done justice to their characters.

Technical:
Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is average as only a couple of them are just hummable. But the background score is okay as it elevates the scenes on some occasions. Cinematography by Aravind Krishna is very pleasant to watch. As the film is aimed at certain classes of audiences (youth and college-going students), the camera work suited to those audiences very much. The film is a delightful watch for the village youth. Editing by TS Suresh is adequate. Dialogues by Sashank Vennelakanti are just okay and good in parts. Production values of GK Film Corporation are up to the mark. When it comes to direction Thiru, he has given a perfect image make-over for Vishal.

Remarks:
No doubt, Khiladi is a cool entertainer and at the same time with a different narration. The drawback of the film is that the second half is just on a predictable path. Nonetheless, a paisa-vasool film.

Cast: Vishal, Neetu Chandra, Sarah Jain Dias, Tanushri Datta, Prakash Raj, Mouli, Santhanam, Mayilsamy, Sudha, Sneha, Mallika Kapoor
Credits: Dialogues – Sashank Vennelakanti; Cinematography – Aravind Krishna; Editing – TS Suresh; Music – Yuvan Shankar Raja; Presents – Vikram Krishna; Producer – Vikram Krishna; Story, screenplay and direction – Thiru
Banner: GK Film Corporation
Released on: March 16, 2012