Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri........a throbbing ride all the way !

After a disappointing “Pathaka” K. Madhu has bounced back with a well etched out Suresh Gopi starrer Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri (NKR). As the name suggests, it is a full fledged investigation story with twists and turns aided by lot of blood. Not a pleasing sight for kids or elders when you see three cute babes stranded to death and amazingly in the same compartment of a train. The story starts off in a train and ends up in a train as well. The producer would have spent some extra penny to shoot those illustrious scenes in a train but some, quite evidently are nothing but good use of sets or good art direction.

What you expect from a Suresh Gopi thriller is what you get in NKR though it can be a path-breaking film just like his previous Chintamani Kolacase. If blood, gore and mouth watering violence were the trademark of that Shaji Kailas film, K. Madhu doesn’t go haywire with the script but instead provides us a classic thriller. The story starts with the crew of RACT, a railway crime investigating team lead by Gopi himself attack a passenger terrorist and kill him. Perfect introduction. I just cannot remember his screen name because it is a tongue twisterJ. Upon extreme pressure and demand, the RACT team starts the reinvestigation of some murders which happened under mysterious circumstances. They kick start their campaign with the investigation of the crime whose victims were Nadiya (Kavya) and 2 other gals which occurred a month back.

Nadiya who is good at shooting is found unconscious after being stabbed in the 1^st A.C compartment. She is taken to hospital but the doctors declare her “brain dead”. Nadira is her twin sister and she almost loses her heart out after seeing her sister’s condition. She has her interest cut down in classical dance and even her mannerisms are just the other side of what you see in Nadiya who is bold. Kavya to be fair has given justice to her double role and it would be the very first appreciation which I as a viewer give her over all these yearsJ. There are a lot of characters involved and it is evident from the moment go that each of them has a part to play in the crucial climax where things are unfolded in a break-neck pace.

Suresh Gopi will obviously unfold the mystery but it’s the path he follows to do so which makes you feel, “yeah this is something different” and finally the answer to “who is the killer” can’t be said in one word cos the killer is beyond your imagination. To be honest, the two murders one of a dancer and the other of an NDTV reporter have hardly anything to do with the original story. Being clever, the director reveals the Nadiya mystery only in the end picking his order to perfection cos otherwise the audience would feel as if there were a plethora of events which were completely a wastage of time. It is here you see the role of an experienced director in K. Madhu when he handles those otherwise difficult scenes with ease.

The script by A.K Sajan after Chintamani Kolacase has lived up to the standards set by the other investigative thrillers. Infact, it is amazing to see how he had managed to pen a story like this and tie up the loose strings which could have affected the totality of the film. Background score is just awful and it tests your patience undoubtedly. The cast and crew are just fine with Kavya and Suresh Gopi sharing the bulk of the credit. Suresh Gopi’s costume designer needs a pat on his back to make a jaded old “commissioner” look handsome. Cotton shirts, trendy jeans and on top of that sunglasses makes our Hero look younger. On the whole, NKR is a spell binding thriller for around 150 mins though it has its downside as well which I don’t want to mention. It won’t disappoint you.

My verdict: A superb thriller !