Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri: No expectations please!
IS
A thriller that may be inspired by Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express! That is what the K.Madhu-directed Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri would seem on the first hand. Though of course it would be unfair to compare the film with the Agatha Christie classic, the film has come off quite well and is definitely worth a watch, provided you go to watch it without any kind of presumptions.
Sharafuddin Tharamasi (Suresh Gopi), an encounter specialist who heads the RACT (Railway Anti-criminal Task force) is called in, along with his team, to probe a case related to three murders that had taken place on board a train and that too on its inaugural run. While one of the victims, Naadiya (Kavya Madhavan), an ace shooter, is not totally dead and is in sort of a coma, she is very near to being called dead, brain dead in reality. Of the other two, one was found hanging inside her coupe while the other was found dead on the tracks. All the victims however were ladies who traveled by the First Class A.C compartment of the train.
The probe begins and how the case is cracked forms the plot.
‘Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri’, though an edge-of-the-seat thriller, is slow and sluggish when compared to other Suresh Gopi thrillers. Suresh Gopi has done his best to bring to life the character of Sharafuddin Tharamasi, but still it won’t be remembered among his best characters till date. Maybe because of the nature of the character, Suresh Gopi in Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri would not appeal to us as much as the Suresh Gopi of Commissioner, Ekalavyan, Bharath Chandran IPS, Thalasthaanam, Pathram, Lelam etc. But still, he has done the role credibly well, in typical Suresh Gopi style. Kavya is perfect as Naadiya and also as Naadira.
All the others in the cast have done justice to their roles. Suraaj Venjaramoodu, who is nowadays seen in almost every film, does a full length role as the Ticket Examiner and provides enough of comedy in his own style, mouthing his trademark kind of dialogues. Technical aspects are good. But the background score by Rajamani is not up to the mark.
Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri may not seem up to the mark when compared with earlier films by the director, like Moonnaam Mura, Irupathaam Noottandu, Oru CBI Diarykurippu etc. But the film, on the whole, would be appealing to those who’d like to approach it without any presumptions and expectations.
