ANJAAN (2014)

Genre: Action / Romance
Running Length: 2:45
Cast: Suriya, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Vidyut Jamwal
Director: Lingusamy

ANJAAN (English translation: Fearless) is a movie straight out of the 80s early 90s gangster film playbook where style over substance is the focus.
A cool charismatic lead with trademark moves? Checked.
Slow-mo action scenes and shootouts? Checked.
Loyalty and brotherhood? Checked.
Female characters who are not given much to do but exist mainly for eye candy? Double checked.

This mildly entertaining popcorn flick is Suriya's movie all the way. When we are first introduced to Suriya's portrayal as the gang leader (he plays two characters; the gangster head and his brother), Suriya literally strides into the scene like a god. He cuts a fine figure wearing a tight V neck T-shirt and sunglasses, a toothpick hanging from his mouth and spots a perfectly trimmed facial hair with Neymar-like hairstyle - walks across the room in slow motion with smoke all around him. It's a moment that cries out "Cool!" Unfortunately, Suriya is unable to save the film as it suffers from a weak script, poor character development and unnecessarily lengthy narrative. To be fair, Suriya gives an earnest performance especially evident in his portrayal of the two characters but in the end, the film doesn't amount to much. Compared to Suriya's last flick, Singam 2, that movie moved along very swiftly because of its tight editing but Anjaan somehow feels bloated. The fight sequences are uninspired and predictable (someone will sure crash through a window or land on glass tables shattering it into thousand pieces - in slow-mo). What I did like however is the sequencing of the story where Suriya's gangster character is being told as a flashback, thus elevating him into legend status. Verdict: Maybe Suriya should stop associating himself with such films in order to do justice to his potential.

Rating: 4.5/10