BOTTOM LINE
Pointless Rural Investigation
RATING
1.5/5
RUNTIME
5Hrs 18Mins | 10 Episodes
What Is the Film About?
A quiet rural police station is jolted into action with the discovery of a mysteriously chopped head on a rock. As the cop Sidharthan and team hunt for his identity, the trail leads from a bomb blast at an orphanage to a legendary elephant. Spanning Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the case unearths many secrets, past loves, and rivalries. The team comes together to decode the truth behind Muthu’s fate.
Performances
None of the performances truly register because there is hardly any graph to the characters; they neither evolve nor progress, instead shifting randomly from one event to the next. The least one would expect is a sense of empathy for Muthu, played by Vijay Sethupathi, but his stoic, passive persona tests the audience’s patience. The performance feels lazy and never helps the character come alive.
Muthu Kumar and Kalaivani Bhaskar are the most tolerable of the lot; the show could have benefited more from their bitter-sweet equation and situational humour. Milind Soman is the typical Mumbai-import villain and remains little more than background furniture. Balaji Sakthivel’s extended appearance contributes reasonably to the show’s quirky flavour, while Abi Nakshathra is wasted in a toothless role.
Analysis
Muthu alias Kaattaan, coming from Kadaisi Vyavasayi fame Manikandan, is a low-stakes investigative drama that makes a conscious effort to package a stale revenge saga in folklore-inspired garb. Set in a quaint Tamil Nadu village, the story unfolds in a police station that hasn’t seen a case in years. The officers are timid yet sincere, savouring a laidback lifestyle, remaining perennially on the cusp of a city transfer.
The tale kicks off when a village local spots the chopped head of a smiling man on a rock, akin to a laughing Buddha. The officers, headed by Sidharthan, are out to find his body. In their pursuit of the dead man Muthu’s identity and his killer, they bump into several men and women with contrasting narratives of his personality over the years. While it is clear that he was a man on a mission, what was he really after?
The show’s idea of a not-so-serious investigation around a dead man with an eventful life does appear worthy of your interest. Over the years, Muthu was a hit with women, helped a waiter turn a hotel owner, worked at a watch-repair shop, managed an orphanage, tamed an elephant like a boss and was also a part of a mental asylum. However, as the dots connect, the storytelling slides into randomness.
The storyteller intends to build a shroud of mystery around Muthu, presenting his colourful past as a puzzle with pieces that refuse to fit. Yet, none of these brief flashback episodes creates a lasting impact. The show straddles multiple timelines too frequently, making no notable effort to establish the differences between eras. All along, Muthu remains unchanged; a passive, introverted figure donning a lungi.
With a screenplay woven around the accounts of his acquaintances, you never truly get to know what Muthu is up to. The full picture doesn’t emerge, albeit intentionally, which becomes frustrating for the viewer after a point. The show wastes considerable time showcasing the leisurely ambience of the police station and the personal lives of the officers; elements that extend the runtime but contribute little to the core premise.
As the latter episodes probe into these random events to decode the trajectory of Muthu’s life, the laziness in the writing appears more glaring. There is no emotion or context to most sequences. The romance subplots are a snooze-fest, where Kattan appears reluctant but finally gives in to the women. Similarly, the internal rivalries within the criminal gang he works for make for equally cumbersome viewing.
Why is Muthu’s story worthy of a show? What makes his life special? From the investigation to the vague action scenes to the lifeless characters, the show lacks a sense of atmosphere or momentum at any point. If not for Vijay Sethupathi (who also looks lost and confused), there’s no motivation to sit through a 5-hour long show that feels like a headless chicken and remains as clueless as its lead cops.
Music and Other Departments?
If the show manages to grab one’s attention occasionally, it is thanks to Rajesh Murugesan’s goofy score, which integrates neatly with a few interesting situations in this helter-skelter narrative. The cinematography by Madhu Neelakandan and Shanmuga Sundaram is strictly functional, neat, but nothing spectacular. The editing makes a mess of a promising idea, rarely allowing the show to settle into a rhythm. The pointless action choreography only adds insult to injury.
Highlights?
Novel writing structure
The mix of rural humour and the folklorish setup
Drawbacks?
Vague, random screenplay
Poorly etched characters
No ounce of emotion, dull action sequences
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
Not at all
Muthu Alias Kaattaan Series Reviewed by M9 News
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