Irudhi Suttru Movie Review

Cast: Madhavan, Ritika Singh, Mumtaz Sorcar, Radha Ravi, Naaser, Kaali Venkat, Zakir Hussain & Others

Cinematography: Sivakumar Vijayan

Music: Santhosh Narayanan

Editing: Sathish Suriya

Stunts: Stunner Sam, Tom Delmar

Art Direction: T Santhanam

Dialogues: Arun Matheshwaran

Screenplay: Sudha Kongara & Sunanda Raghunathan

Story & Direction: Sudha Kongara

Produced by: Y Not Studios & Thirukumaran Entertainment

Distributed by: UTV Motion Pictures & Dream Factory

Run Time: 01:52:00

Release Date: 29-01-2016 

Boxing films are mostly monotonous and follow a usual template. There is not much you can play around with the story, the milieu gets familiar, and the endings are mostly inside the ring. Despite all these limitations and more on the way, Sudha Kongara’s Irudhi Suttru is a riveting piece of cinema which keeps you pinned on the whole.

Sudha gets straight to the point from frame one, wasting no time dealing with character establishments. She seems to have trusted her ability to engross her audience, rather than playing to the gallery with a lethargic set of wisecracking or other futile elements. The characters are achingly real, the dialogues on-the-face, and through Sivakumar Vijayan’s fresh frames and Santhosh Narayanan’s exuberant score, it all comes together very comfortably. You will find yourself hooting for the intensity which you are bestowed with, more so in the first half, where there is not even a single dull moment.

Irudhi Suttru will easily find its space on the top of one man’s shelf. And that man, is Madhavan. Stepping afar from whatever he’s pulled off till date, Maddy delivers a beastly performance as the uncompromising Prabhu. Albeit clichés being associated to the way his role has been penned, it is heartening to see a chocolate boy turn into a beefed up macho man and do something completely out of his comfort zone. But even after this unprecedented turn, it is the newbie in Ritika Singh who steals the show, jetpacking herself away with tons of energy and acting pulp. Irudhi Suttru would have gone awry if not for her wondrous job which is just too good for a debutant. The intense but lovable relationship between the coach and her disciple is what sets the film apart and makes it click. And in between this pivotal duo, there stand the memorable performances of Nasser, the sister boxer and Kaali Venkat, who gets to play a father this time.

Visually, the film leaves no stone unturned with Sivakumar Vijayan showing us what he’s proficient at, generating montages that do stick around in your head. The long shot at the interval, Ey Sandakara and the final boxing segment are just examples of the mastery which might go unnoticed here. Santosh Narayanan goes on to become one of the biggest assets of the movie, as it’s great to see a composer adding an all-new color to the Tamil music scene. The cuts here make sense, but would have been much more accessible had Sudha not rushed ahead with the second half. The climax however, makes up for the blips.

Toting up, Irudhi Suttru offers a lot of fun while also leaving a thunderous footmark on all the issues which plague the boxing setup. This is a hardcore team effort from everybody involved, and the result is visible onscreen. Book your seat, I’m pretty sure you won’t repent.

Irudhi Suttru Movie Review Rating: 3.5/5

Also read our other Tamil Movie Reviews