Vishal's much anticipated movie Sathyam, portraying him as a super cop, is out and the actor has lived up to the expectations with smart looks and credible performance. But the debutant director A. Rajasekar has failed to come up with a new story or innovative treatment.
The story revolves around a cop Satyam (Vishal), an honest and strong police officer fighting for justice against the corrupt system and believes in dealing the thugs only through law. The plot gears up when Sathyam , chases two politicians out to succeed an ailing chief minister of an imaginary state.
The killer turns out to be a former cop, played by Kannada star Upendra, disgusted with the system acting at the behest of another political aspirant. Sathyam, who is cornered by the minister and his henchmen, faces many hardships including suspension. How he emerges victorious forms the rest of the story.
The sizzling Nayantara adds attraction to the movie but her half backed role leaves much to be desired. The cute looking girl does well in comical and romantic expressions.
The real culprit of the movie is the inconsistent script. While the murders and the investigation in the first half have the stamp of successful commercial flick, the second half dealing with the fight between ACP and the minister lacks imagination. Instead, the director has resorted to cliched sequences and routine twists.
Craig Mumma's amazing visual effects, Stun Siva's thrilling action choreography, and the spectacular camera work by R.D. Rajasekar are the major strong points of the movie. Harris Jayaraj has come out with tuneful songs and effective back ground score. The placement of the songs, however, spoils the tempo of the narrative, especially the Jetix type song and 'Paal Pappali'.
The comedy track involving Nayantara and Premji Amaran is quite pathetic and the length of these scenes are dragging
The tall and well built Vishal tires his best to fit the bill. He looks smart and breaths fire in actions sequences. His portrayal of a serious and honest police officer is credible and his handling of emotional scenes is appreciable.
Nayantara's failure to make us laugh is not her fault, as the so called comical scenes are poorly conceived.
Upendra, Kotta Srinivasa Rao and Sudha Chandran have done their parts well.
Overall, Sathyam has come out as a run of the mill cop story despite a sincere effort by Vishal.
Aravindan