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Si 3 review: Suriya at his energetic best 

Back with a bang is Durai Singam in the third installment of the Singam Franchise. And this time to take on a racketeer in neighbouring Andhra and the connected link in Australia.

Racy, the tempo rarely slowing down, it at times seems like a mad rush by the cop to solve an issue which would have caused hazardous health problems to the people. Suriya eminently watchable is at his energetic best, reveling in the role of the cop who never tires!

The opening caption lets us know that though the setting is in Andhra, the language spoken would be Tamil for the ‘convenience’ of the Tamil audience. The story opens with Singam deputed to Andhra to investigate into the murder of a top cop.

Brief shots from Singam’s earlier encounters ( Singam1 and 2) are depicted, when a character wonders why a cop from Tamil Nadu should be brought in. Singam’s stepping down from the train at the railway station in Vizag, sets the tone for the nature of the events to follow. All sound and fury, Singam thrashes over a dozen armed goons lined up for him there. His bete noire this time is Reddy with his illegal businesses and his Australian connection. Suriya’s dashing and debonair carries the film on his shoulders with panache. And it’s his charismatic presence that distracts one from the sense of deja vu one feels throughout. The word ‘Singam’ reverberates in the background each time the cop takes on his enemies, a lion’s form juxtaposed on his.

The director tries to introduce some moments of suspense but breaks them soon enough. A wise move, as the audience could anyway have guessed what the reality was. Like the matter of Singam’s estranged wife, and the identity of Vidya the girl who hounds him.

Anushka is calm and sober as the role requires. Shruti ‘s role almost follows Hansika’s from an earlier version, the ‘investigative journalist’ part just a tag. Post-interval, the story travels to Australia, where Singam goes in search of the kingpin and Reddy’s partner in crime.

The Hawala racket, the dumping of hazardous toxic waste on Indian soil all form part of the script. The camera is extremely mobile, as it whirls, zooms in and pans to capture the non-stop action, except when it takes a diversion for some half-hearted comedy or the mandatory dream songs. The action scenes are ably choreographed.

The background score, mostly a high decibel affair, seems appropriate to the mood and feel that Hari has maintained. The slick fast cutting at times seems a tad rushed through. In its 156 minutes of running time, the second half could have been trimmed and made crisper. Unpretentious, action-centric and with a speedy narrative style, ‘Si 3’ has rarely a dull moment. The cop’s antics here are far more entertaining than it was in the ‘Singam 2’ saga.

Film Si 3
Director Hari
Cast Suriya, Anushka, Shruti Haasan, Anoop Thakur Singh, Soori, Radhika.

Source: The New Indian Express