2 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: K. SUBASH
ACTORS: PARTHIPAN, RANJIT
ACTRESS: DIVYA UNNI
MUSIC DIRECTOR: DEVA
STORYLINE:
Parthipan plays a blind man who finds his wife has committed suicide by hanging herself in the opening sequence. Ranjit plays Parthipan's friend, and a villain. Parthipan eventually begins suspecting that there are mysterious surroundings to his wife's (Divya Unni's) death, and tries to figure out what happened.
Eventually, Ranjit becomes more and more involved in the crime, and the story turns into a fast-wits game between both Parthipan and Ranjit to see who is going to triumph over the other in the end.
There are several plot twists that are seemingly very interesting -- (spoiler!) for example, is Parthipan blind after all? Where did Divya Unni's corpse go? What actually happened to make Divya Unni hang herself?
Other characters include 'Thalaivaasal' Vijay, playing a dumb police inspector, and Sekhar, playing his even dumber assistant. Delhi Ganesh makes an appearance as Divya Unni's father.
A movie that COULD have been an excellent thriller.
COMMENTS:
Indian cinemas have never produced many great murder mysteries. In fact, I can't remember a single one, sitting here. "Sabaash" tries, but it, too, fails. The beginning scene makes us believe we're in for a heck of a ride, but eventually, it's of no avail. Unnecessary stupid comedy, an unnecessary fight scene, and a lot of holes in the plot leave the watcher disgusted.
I hate to say this, being a Parthipan fan, but I give no sabaash to "Sabaash." There are a few scenes that capture the imagination, but overall, the end feeling is one of extreme disappointment, because this is one of those few Tamil movies that COULD have been excellent.
Parthipan's character reminded me of Keyser Soze from the English movie The Usual Suspects. Like Soze, he gives off an air of being smarter than everyone else, knowing things that no one else knows, and also feigning an affliction. But unlike Soze, Parthipan's Seenu is not all that smart, the plot twists are expected, and the ending doesn't leave you nearly as exhilarated as the masterpiece ending of The Usual Suspects.
But, considering this is a Tamil murder mystery, you have to give credit to the director. Not many directors attempt murder mysteries, because Tamil audiences would no doubt get bored, but K. Subash has tried and succeeded -- to an extent.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
None of Deva's tunes are very involving. But the background Thriller score is interesting.
RECOMMENDATION:
Watch it on video.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN