Kaalidas ( Bharath) finds himself in the middle of a case on New Years Eve, where a 5 year old girl child has gone missing after a New Year Party in a giant condiminium.
The cops are under pressure from the strict ACP Vaishnavi ( Bhavani Sre) and higher ups. Kaalidas is racing against time, with not enough personnel to help.
After a long and exhausting search, the finger of suspicion falls on Stephen ( Ajay Karthik), a bachelor living in one of the flats.
But are things exactly as they seem ? Or is there more to this case than meets the eye? What was the motive behind the crime?
The film is a taut thriller, that begins on a promising note that sets the pace for things to come.
Director Sri Senthil takes a no frills approach that works well in keeping the film true to its genre.
The variey of characters, in the condominium setting, help in adding to the net of suspicion and showcases what odds the cops are up against, adding to the thrill factor.
The setting adds to the film and gives it an atmosphere, aided by Tapas Nayak’s sound design, Suresh Bala’s camerawork and Kaliyuga Raja’s set design. The edits are noteworthy and Sam CS ‘ bgm elevates the proceedings. The film stretches over a large canvas, and is well mounted displaying sound production values.
The highlight of the film are the constant twists right up to the end.
The well chosen cast further adds value, with each actor being given his or her due. Everbody is there for a reason and thereby hangs a clue!
Bharath as the leasld fits the role perfectly, nailing the body language of a cop, and dining his thinking cap, he aces his role superbly, with many a thrilling moment, making for a sound investigative thriller.
Bhavani Sre as the strict higher up proves her mettle and gets the body language and expressions just right, adding to interesting tense moments as the case proceeds.
Ajay Karthik as Stephen is well cast and impressive and displays the needed gravitas and nuance to his performance and pivotal position in the film.
Abarnathi as the grieving mom displays her sound acting chops yet again. Prakash Raj makes a brief yet impactful appearace while veteran actor Sangeetha Mahadevan, impresses with a top notch act as the apartment complex president. To say more would involve spoilers. She is an ace choice and adds to the film with her composed, measured yet powerful performance.
On the flip sids, the film seems to have one too many red herrings. The climax and few gory scenes are not for the faint hearted.
Overall, Kaalidas 2 lives up to its genre, and with a human, emotional angle, unexpected twists at every turn, good production values, excellent cast and a sound technical team, all makes makes for a rivetting, investigative cop thriller.
RATINGS : 3/5
PRO : YUVARAJ
