Right Movie Review: This whodunnit gets it almost right

It is amusing whenever a film in Tamil cinema, known for over-the-top elements like stunts and transitions, tries its hand at working on a location-bound story, owing to the creative exercise it offers the creators. Such stories offer joy to witness how the writer has placed the story paraphernalia within the confines of a building or a room. However, it is a hit-and-miss for Tamil cinema on that front. Debut director Subramian Rameshkumar's Right had all the trappings to be a gripping thriller in a confined setting. Pulled by its own weight, this film too is neither compelling nor irredeemably bad.

The story begins with the college student Jai (Aditya Shivakumar) going missing, leaving his father, a hardware engineer named Shakthivel Pandian (Arun Pandian), in a state of jitters. The police department gives Shakthivel a runaround. This cold-shouldering treatment necessitates his frequenting the station. On one particular day, a mysterious laptop ends up in a public identification of lost items. One of the avaricious cops decides to gift it to his +2 passed son, unaware that it would make everyone present at the station thankful for their next breathing moment and hold on to their biggest gift of life anxiously for the rest of the runtime.

The short runtime acts as the catalyst for both getting things right and preventing the screenplay from meandering to the point of no return. The first half throws a lot of information and wants to be a lot of things, ranging from a suspense thriller to a social drama. Debut director Subramanian Rameshkumar deftly manages to keep us invested in the film with a first half full of set-ups. All thanks to the literal ticking time bomb of a narrative. Shakthivel being treated like a pushover in the first 20 minutes implicitly justifies what happens to the police station in the later scenes. There aren't any unnecessary characters or scenes in the movie. But what sticks out like a sore thumb is either the longevity of a scene or an under-/overperforming character. Also, some jarringly convenient choices in writing. Take, for instance, Shakthivel's story. The scenes right after the police station came under siege merely served as a lead to the big interval reveal of who Shakthivel truly was. There is no solid reasoning for him to hide it, other than the writer saving it for the interval, while it was seen coming a mile away. Such a writing does not serve the intentions of the character, who is a widower, and whose dying wife wanted him to take good care of their only son. A caring father like Shakthivel, who is ready to move mountains to safeguard his son, fails even to do simpler things. Right cuts off its nose to spite its face with many such scenes.  

Director: Subramanian Rameshkumar

Cast: Natty, Arun Pandian, Akshara Reddy, Varmika

The characterisations, too, are neither here nor there. As mentioned before, no character in Right is unnecessary.  In fact, it organically brings in characters to this location-bound story. But that exactly is what ails the film as well. No character, except a few, feels like a living and breathing human. They merely operate like story propellants. A film like Payanam worked not just because of the tension-building but because of some interesting individual stories and what is waiting for them at the other end if the hostage situation ends amicably. With many fewer characters involved, something could have been churned out. Especially with Menaka (Akshara Reddy). Menaka is a sub-inspector who visits the station to invite the officials to her wedding on that fateful day. Though she is a cop and trained for such situations, there is not a trace of bother on her face. Whereas 'Pazhaya Joke' Thangadurai, who plays a prisoner, surprisingly, is the only character who retains the human touch of the first half. These spaces could not be forgiven or sidestepped, as Right is far removed from a mission-oriented film. Emotional stakes are aplenty, starting from the initial missing case to the major plot point. This is not to say the characters were ineffective; they are indeed effective, but they are just that. Given the emotional turn the narrative would take in the second half, no character prepares us for that. 

The second half, though with the abrupt tonal shift, carries a relevant and overarching social message tied to everything that goes on in the police station. This message and Natty, as Inspector Raghuram, with the minimal screentime to his character, salvage an otherwise dull second half. Despite it being a wise call to bring a flashback as a relief from the police station, it outstays its welcome. An unnecessary song makes the flashback look longer. Not just its duration, actors Yuvina Parthavi, who plays Varnika, and Aditya ostensibly struggle to deliver complex emotions. The second half loses steam with the two unable to shoulder the ask of the narrative. Also, the powerful message carried in the film looked misplaced in a red-wire-blue-wire kind of setting.  As we begin to disconnect from the proceedings, Raghuram's pre-climactic portions perform the balancing act, making it the most interesting segment of the second half and rendering the second half mildly engaging. 

Put simply, Right works in parts. What stops the Subramian Rameshkumar directorial from being a great film is his choice of tools to anchor the two halves. The decision to drive the entirety of the first half with smarts and the second half with emotions has cost the film dearly. This discordant transition puts the film neither here nor there, with just some flourishes from actors, a relevant message, and a Hercule Poirot-style easter egg reveal to make a case for it.