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Sorgavaasal review: Despite its familiar beats, the film’s gripping narrative and powerful performances make it an effective film.
Sorgavaasal is a gripping thriller.
SorgavaasalA
3.5/5
Starring: RJ Balaji, Selvaraghavan, Hakkim Shah, Karunas, NattyDirector: Sidharth Vishwanath
“The funny thing is… on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook, “Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) says with his sarcastic wit which leaves Red (Morgan Freeman) cackling in one of many incredible scenes of The Shawshank Redemption. Pathiban (RJ Balaji) says almost the same lines in Sorgavaasal but no one’s laughing here, because Sorgavaasal is a bleak world with no room for such humour. Here things are bloody and violent, and unlike the Hollywood classic, there’s no room for home in the pessimistic world of Sorgavaasal.
The film, set in the late 90s, opens with a special force headed by Ismail (Natty) investigating a prison riot, which left 45 dead and 60 missing. As Ismail investigates all parties involved in the riot that changed the political history of the state, the story of Parthiban, a key to all the events, is unravelled. Parthiban, like Andy, is locked up in jail for the murder of an IAS officer, but he claims to be innocent. People think Parthi is a henchman of Siga, a dreaded gangster, who is in control of the Chennai central prison. However, we only see Parthi to be an owner of a roadside eatery, whose world revolves around his mom and his fiance. All he dreams of is to start a restaurant but he gets sucked up into the black hole where there is no room for law and order.
Meanwhile, Siga (Selvaraghavan), a ruthless murderer, who reigns over the prison with drug trade and other crimes, goes through a spiritual transformation. With the advice of his fellow inmate Kendric (Samule Abila Robinson), a good Christian, Siga undergoes baptism and tries to embrace non-violence. However, a newly-appointed Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar (Sharaf U Dheen) makes things personal and tries to take down Siga. Parthi finds himself in the vortex of vengeance and witnesses his only way to escape this hell close before his eyes.
As more witnesses open up, Sorgavaasal depicts the rotting underbelly of the justice system. The film is effective in bringing out the irony of how the very system–that’s supposed to redeem the criminals–produces them. With an interesting premise and a gripping screenplay, Sidharth Vishwanath touches upon bigger ideas of righteousness, justice, and loyalty. However, the core of Sorgavaasal is its bleak worldview. Sorgavaasal leaves with no hope. Yet, it still manages not to end up as a tragedy as the characters we initially rooted for find some closure. In a sense, it is reflective of life itself.
Sorgavaasal isn’t devoid of problems, though. In a sense, the film doesn’t offer anything new. We get to see the same old depiction of the prison that we witnessed since Kamal Haasan’s Mahanadhi. The cliches don’t stop with that. The choice of having a narrator for the film and characters also provides a sense of sameness. Also, there is no real suspense as it is easy to guess the culprits.
Nevertheless, the suspense is not really the point of the film. It is more about the why than the who. On that account, Sorgavaasal does a good job. All characters have a clear motive and an arc that is effectively realised. Which is aided by commendable performances from RJ Balaji, Karunas, and almost all of the lead cast, which makes Sorgavaasal a gripping watch.