Raju Murugan’s directorial ‘Japan’ is an action-comedy heist that unfolds satisfactorily as an entertainer. The narrative is character driven, and Karthi plays the titular role. Depicted as a master thief, Japan (Karthi) gets framed for a massive robbery. The quest to find the actual culprit is the crux of the story.
The narrative is character-driven; therefore, Anu Emmanuel gets lesser screen space for a heroine. There are a few loose threads in justifying certain actions of the female lead which can be neglected. Yet, the storyline manages to sustain an attentive rhythm.
As any regular movie under this genre, ‘Japan’ too portrays the involvement of police, bureaucrats and politicians yielding to the larger narrative. K S Ravikumar, Sunil and Vijay Milton are convincing in their roles. Keeping the robbery as the central theme, another story is narrated parallelly. It is a generic story of a wife taking her son with her and leaving her careless husband behind. This minor story gives the much-needed gravitas to the overall character of ‘Japan’. The movie shifts from the present to past, while also from serious to lighter moments. Karthi’s performance as Japan is laudable as he posseses aloofness and still manages to appear as a strong character. Vagai Chandrashekar who plays Inba, Japan’s sidekick, has delivered a vivid performance. The duo amplifies the comic dimension in the narrative.
Celebrating the silver jubilee in Karthi’s filmography, ‘Japan’ stands as an indelible project. Despite a few shortcomings in providing closure to supporting characters, the overall narrative still manages to keep the audience engaged.
Published 11 November 2023, 00:58 IST