'24' Tamil film review: Actor Suriya gives a stellar performance in this tale of time travel!

Film: 24
Cast: Suriya, Samantha, Nithya Menen
Director: Vikram Kumar

What it's about: 24 is a Tamil film in the science-fiction thriller genre helmed by director Vikram Kumar. Time travel as a concept is new not just to Tamil cinema, but even to Indian cinema. In 24, we see Suriya play the roles of Athreya, Sethuraman and Manigandan. Sethuraman is a scientist who develops a watch which enables time travel. He is killed by his evil brother Athreya because he wants the watch. 26 years later, we meet Mani (Sethuraman's son) who owns a watch shop and lives with his mom. They are in possession of a box with 24 written on it but have no idea what it is. One day, thanks to certain circumstances, Mani finds the key to the box and opens it. And lo and behold, it's the time travel watch! Meanwhile, we learn that Athreya is alive, but now a paraplegic. He wants the watch to go back in time and change his life. And this is where we see him go in search of the watch once again. How do Mani and Athreya meet? What does Mani do with the watch? Does Athreya kill Mani too?

What's good: At the outset, the film - which is also produced by Suriya - has an extremely high production value. The technical aspects, the special effects and the cinematography by Thiru are top-notch in 24. Each frame of the film is visually pleasing to the eye and the colours used simply stand out.

Coming to the actors, Suriya has performed each of the roles with such brilliance that you just can't fault anything about them. He effectively personifies the evil in Athreya and the intelligent simpleton in Sethuraman. As Mani, he's young, suave, charismatic and stylish. He pulls off all the three distinct roles with élan and must be applauded for this. The amount of hard work he has put in for the roles is evident on screen.

Director Vikram Kumar has ensured that Suriya's versatility as an actor comes through and has scripted the movie to suit the star and Tamil audience perfectly. The science-fiction time travel genre may be new, but the director's script ensures that there's romance, comedy, drama and action in the movie. All the ingredients required for a Tamil film audience can be found in 24 and the credit completely goes to Vikram Kumar. He has introduced a new concept in Kollywood - and perhaps even in Indian cinema - and has cinematically tried to execute it Hollywood-style. And he has succeeded! AR Rahman's songs and BGM add tremendous value to this script as well.

Samantha looks gorgeous in the film and she portrays the role of Sathya very convincingly. Nithya Menen has a cameo and has delivered what is required for the role.

What's not: As enjoyable as the film is, it is a tad too long at 2 hours and 44 minutes. The pace of the movie can be quickened by trimming down at least 20 minutes of the film. And this is one aspect that editor Prawn Pudi perhaps could have focussed on.

What to do: This movie is a must-watch for Suriya's stellar performance and director Vikram Kumar's time travel script. 24 is a visually stunning film with a novel concept.

Rating: 3.5/5