'Miruthan' Review: Jayam Ravi's zombie flick leaves a lot to be desired

Film: Miruthan
Starring: Jayam Ravi, Lakshmi Menon
Director:  Shakti Soundar Rajan
Rating: **

What it's about

Touted as the first zombie film in Tamil cinema, Shakti Soundar Rajan's Miruthan came with high expectations. The director's earlier film was about the relationship between a man and a dog and  the plot was simple. In this film, Soundar Rajan veers into a completely unexplored genre and adds elements of Tamil cinema to boot. The film is set in Ooty where we meet Karthik, a traffic cop, and his younger sister Vidya. Karthik's sole aim in life is to look after her and ensure she is protected and well-cared for. Vidya decides he needs to get married and this is when we meet Lakshmi Menon. But their lives turn upside down when one day Ooty is under attack by zombies. What is turning these humans into zombies? How are Karthik and the town defending themselves? Do they manage to get rid of all the zombies in their town and go back to peaceful living?

What's good 

At the outset, one must appreciate Shakti Soundar Rajan for writing a script that is offbeat and new to Tamil cinema. One must also appreciate Jayam Ravi for taking on the role of Karthik in this experimental film. While presenting the idea of zombies to the Tamil audience, the director has tried to ensure that all the usual aspects of Tamil cinema are not negated— there is romance between the hero and heroine, there is a comic sidekick (Kaali Venkat), there is brother-sister love, there is plenty of action and drama, and yes, not one but many many villains. Jayam Ravi has given it his all and played his role with conviction as is evident from the film. The director has kept the storyline simple in this film too but does it work?

What's not 

While the film has been marketed as a 'zombie' film, it fits nowhere into that definition except for the inclusion of zombie-like creatures. The storyline is not novel nor convincing. It is amateurish. It is just another Tamil film masquerading as a zombie film. Take, for instance, how a lake filled with radioactive material is related to zombies. Or how some random doctors in Ooty decide they'll find a vaccine for it in just a few days. In all this, a traffic cop is a superwhiz with guns who shoots zombies down a dozen a minute. The zombies don't scare either the people of Ooty or the audience. When their town is invaded by zombies, the residents seem to be quite calm and collected, except for occasional screaming. The movie is quite tiring by the end.

What to do

The zombies of Hollywood will do a far better job of entertaining you than Miruthan.