24

Director: Vikram Kumar

Music: A.R. Rahman

Cast: Surya, Nithya Menon, Samantha

24 is an Indian Tamil-language science fiction thriller film, written and directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars Suriya, Samantha and Nithya Menen.

Inventor named Sethuraman, we see a mad-scientist gleam in the eye – even his grin is situated the right distance between manic and nerdy. As the villain Athreya (Sethuraman’s twin), Suriya is all dark panache – he’s what he’d have been in Anjaan had the film had a script. At some point, Athreya ends up in a wheelchair, and we see a crumpled mass, crushed by decades of impotence and frustration.

As the “regular” hero, Mani, Suriya is charming like he hasn’t been in years. The presence of a solid script, a director who knows what he’s doing, seems to have put the spring back in Suriya’s step.

Watch his swagger as he discovers what he can do with the watch Sethuraman invented. It’s like Spider-Man discovering his powers. There’s wonderment, delight, and a hint of devilish mischief.

The romantic track gets tedious in the second half, but the initial portions are amazingly good. The director uses the love angle to “explain” to the audience the crucial sci-fi concepts, and these scenes are laugh-out-loud (though, I admit, had these scenes not been so entertaining, they may have played out like pages from Stalking for Science Geeks; maybe they still do). A stretch that ends with a selfie with Dhoni is a bliss-out.

24 is all about Suriya. Every emotion is portrayed in his point of view; from love to comedy to pain to revenge, it all comes under his coverage as he plays three important roles in the film.  As a viewer you feel happy as he patiently communicates them to the audience with utmost sincerity. Special mention to his ‘Athreya’ avatar. It is an experience and it is best understood by experiencing it.

Nithya Menen neatly does her job without showing off the effort or the attempt. Samantha does her usual kind of role, but her character’s contribution to the tale stands vital.