Kolai Review: It's style over substance for Vijay Antony's murder mystery

Director Balaji K Kumar’s debut film, 'Vidiyum Munn', was a celebrated crime thriller. The film is one of the highest-rated neo-noir thrillers with a taut screenplay and solid performances. 10 years later, he is back with his second outing, 'Kolai', which is yet another crime thriller. Starring Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh and Meenakshi Chaudhary, the film is a murder mystery as well. Let’s find out if 'Kolai' has lived up to the expectations!

Laila (Meenakshi Chaudhary) is a model and singer, who aspires to make it big in life. But, she gets murdered at her house. Sandhya Mohanraj (Ritika Singh), an IPS officer, is entrusted with the job of solving the murder mystery and finding out who the killer is and his motive. She seeks the help of a former investigative officer, Vinayak (Vijay Antony), to solve the case.

The entire film is told from Laila’s point of view. Vinayak has a tumultuous relationship with his wife and an ailing daughter. Overcoming his struggles, he, along with Sandhya, tries to find the killer with the available clues.

Director Balaji K Kumar, in pre-release interviews, admitted that the story of 'Kolai' is not new. He takes a done-to-death story and presents it in a quirky manner. While there are some interesting ideas here and there, 'Kolai' is a film that lacks soul. The visuals are extremely stylish and the music compliments it too. However, the story remains stagnant. There’s not enough meat in the murder mystery to keep us invested.

Here's the trailer:

Vinayak and Sandhya have their eyes on Laila’s boyfriend, a modelling agent and a fashion photographer. There is also a mentally-challenged guy, who helps Vinayak with the investigation. Yet, you feel no high. The story is so bland that you feel like staring at a half-baked film with some weird ideas. For example, the whole stretch about Vinayak’s family and her ailing daughter evokes no emotion. It wouldn’t make any change in the story, even if the portion is completely omitted.

The two police officers have their suspicion of three men. When they identify the clues and get one step closer to the killer, you are not convinced enough. Even the backstory of the villain does not surprise you. There are some glaring loopholes in the film which could have been avoided. The mentally-challenged youngster is shown as a guy who is well-versed in technology. He helps the police officers by matching the identity with the database. But, you will never get to know who he matches it with and on what basis.

In an attempt to give the murder mystery a stylised treatment, the story of 'Kolai' is compromised. Hence, there is no desired impact while watching the film.

Sivakumar Vijayan’s visuals give a Hollywood-like treatment to 'Kolai'. They are rich and beautiful. Similarly, the music composed by Girishh Gopalakrishnan has a Western touch, which gives a nice twist. But, that’s about it. If only the same attention were given to the story and screenplay, 'Kolai' could have been a better crime thriller.

1.5 out of 5 stars for 'Kolai'.