Film- Finder
Director-Vinoth Rajendran
Cast- Vinoth Rajendran, Dharani, Charlie, Sendrayan, Brana, Nazar Ali, Bala, Nizhalgal Ravi, Gopinath Shankar, Chidambaram, Abitha.
A crime investigation thriller, ‘Finder’ revolves around an open and shut murder case, which when reopened after eight years, throws up a can of worms that reveals the truth behind the murder and exposes the culprits behind it. Writer-Director Vinoth Rajendran, who essays one of the lead roles too, makes an effort to present a slightly different palette within the parameters of a crime-investigation-scenario.
While in crime-investigation movies it’s a distressed relative of the victim or the investigating cop on the case who tracks and solves the murder, here it is a private detective agency, formed with an altruistic motive that steps in. The agency fights cases to get justice for innocents imprisoned for crimes they hadn’t committed. Vinoth and Pallavi ( Vinoth,Dharani) who run the agency are approached by a young girl Ruby (Brana),who wanted them to reopen a case where her father Peter (Charlie) had been falsely sentenced for the murder of a councilor. As the duo track the case, they encounter dubious characters like Saranraj, a sly lawyer (Bala) who had handled Peter’s case; an eye witness who claimed to have witnessed the councilor’s kidnapping; A fake Godman; and Bheema an influential man and his loyal aide (Ali, Chidambaram) who had their own axe to grind.
The screenplay is fairly focused with few distractions. The characters each with a definite graph get their individual space.
. Charlie a consummate actor infuses life in the role of Peter. Vinoth essays the lead role of Vinod with fair competence. The supporting cast of Sendrayan as Peter’s partner in crime, Brana, Dharani, Bala and Nazar have fitted in suitably.
The narrative has some twists and turns, though a few of them seems unwanted and contrived. The back-and- forth narration helps reveal various perspectives of an event. But the tendency to overuse this tool at backfires at times, leading to repetition and monotony.
Fairly engaging in its take, ‘Finder’ (111minutes) would have been a riveting thriller, had it had a stronger and a more coherent screenplay.
Malini Mannath
Malini Mannath 