Kolaiyuthir Kaalam movie review: Nayanthara cannot survive this thriller, that has nothing going for it

Kolaiyuthir Kaalam, which was getting delayed every week owing to a number of reasons, should have remained in the cans.

Language: TamilNayanthara’s long-in-the-making thriller Kolaiyuthir Kaalam, which was caught in legal wrangling over its title and later owing to financial issues, finally hit the screens after half a dozen release postponements. The film has turned out to be a crashing bore and disappointing. It has turned out to be Nayan’s weakest film in recent times, and should have remained in the cans.[caption id="attachment_7104431" align="alignnone" width="825"] Nayanthara in a still from Kolayuthir Kaalam. YouTube[/caption]There was a lot of hype initially surrounding the film as a stylish director like Chakri Toleti (Kamal Haasan’s Unnai Pol Oruvan and Ajith Billa 2-fame) was pairing up with Nayanthara. But during making the script, the cast and technical crew kept changing, and the film got delayed. The film, touted as a thriller with a lot of horrifying scenes, has no major twists, the villain character fails to impress, and the climax is a total letdown. Tamannah Bhatia did the Hindi version of the film, Khamoshi ,which released a few weeks back, which was a failure. It is inspired (producers claim they have the official rights) from the American slasher film Hush (2016), directed by Mike Flanagan starring a brilliant Kate Siegel as a deaf-mute writer living alone in an isolated house in the woods. One night a masked face of a psychotic killer appears in her widow, creating fear in her mind. On similar lines, Shruthi (Nayanthara) is the adopted daughter and heiress to the fortunes of a Sussex (UK)-based millionaires, who pass away. Shruthi is also a deaf and mute girl but a smart lip reader, and comes from India to stay in a castle in Sussex which she has inherited. But she faces stiff opposition from the relatives of the late heiress when she decides to use the properties she has inherited for the betterment of kids back home in India in the orphanage she grew up. Suddenly, she is left to fend for herself as a home invasion takes place. Shruthi’s life takes a turn for the worse when a deranged maniac wearing a mask breaks into her house one evening, and starts killing everyone in sight. Beyond a point, the proceedings drags as heroine keeps on moving from one room to another in the castle as the killer is hot on her heels. The killer gets many opportunities to murder her but he conveniently fails. How she single-handedly survives the ordeal forms the crux of the story.   The trouble with Kolaiyuthir Kaalam is by the interval point of the 109 minute-long film, you already know that it is going to be yet another classic example of predictable writing in the crime-thriller genre. The director is totally clueless on how to end the film and final wrap up in the climax is in a tearing hurry. The supporting cast of actors like Bhumika Chawla and Pratap Pothan struggle in their underdeveloped roles. The twist involving Bhumika Chawla too does not leave any impact. A lot of questions are left unanswered and half baked. The writing and screenplay is a total mess as in more than half the film, there is no dialogue as the central character is deaf and mute. And technically, the film has nothing going for it, including its jarring background score.  Rating: **