Doctor Movie Review: In Nelson Dilipkumar’s Kolamaavu Kokila, the protagonist took to crime to save her poor family. In this sophomore effort, he once again gives us a protagonist who takes up crime for a good cause. The first time we see this protagonist, Varun (Sivakarthikeyan), he is at the battle front treating an injured terrorist. A superior questions why he has chosen to save the terrorist over an Indian soldier, and he coolly retorts that the latter’s injury is fatal, so saving the terrorist would help in intelligence gathering. He is unemotional that way.

This is certainly a different role for Sivakarthikeyan, who, unlike in other films, is made to be less expressive and less talkative. In the initial scenes, seeing the actor this way does seem jarring. We wonder why he has to be absolutely expressionless and robotic, but as the story develops, you see how this very trait comes in handy for this character to do the things that he does. Discounting his attempt at portraying a serious character in Kanaa, one could call this his first serious hero role. In fact, only Sivakarthikeyan and Vinay, who charmingly plays the suave, ruthless villain Terry, who runs a kidnapping operation, get to play straight-faced characters among the film’s principal cast. Every other actor is funny in one way or the other.