Full credit to the director for his compelling narrative, which helps the movie keep its fast-paced intensity. The Road, an investigative thriller from director Arun Vaseegaran, generally keeps you entertained. Thanks to a plot with two simultaneous sets of changes occurring in two different regions of the state, the movie is intense and captivating.
Story: Meera (Trisha), who is incredibly content, is overjoyed to learn that she is expecting her second child. She is somewhat disappointed that the pregnancy will prevent her from taking the road trip she had planned to do with her young, in-school son Kavin for his birthday.
She allows her husband Anand (Santhosh Prathap) to take her son on vacation since she doesn’t want to let her son down.
Father and son both left on the trip with the intention of coming back in a few days.
But destiny deals a harsh blow. An automobile traveling on the opposite side of the highway loses control, swerves to avoid obstacles, and collides with Anand’s vehicle, killing both of them.
The news of their demise breaks Meera’s heart. She runs to the scene, receives a shock, and has an abortion as a result.
Meera eventually realizes that the incident that killed her husband and son could not have simply been written off as an accident and that it very well may have been staged when she visits the scene of the accident to pay respect to her son and husband.
In another region of the state, Shabeer Kallarakkal’s character, Maya, teaches in an arts and science college. His female pupils adore him for his physical appearance and highly esteem him for his professionalism. One female in particular appears to want to ask him out.
Maya declined the offer despite being a committed educator with high moral and ethical standards. She makes a MeToo charge against him, claiming that the professor requested sexual favours from her out of wrath at having been refused.
Performances: In the movie, Trisha performs a respectable job as Meera.
The actor Shabeer Kallarakkal, who won acclaim for playing the role of Dancing Rose in Sarpatta Parambarai (2021), stole the show in the movie with yet another potent performance.
Your reaction to Shabeer’s portrayal of Maya is quite powerful. You feel sorry for Maya’s character as he struggles to cope with the awful blow that ultimately leads to his father hanging himself. In actuality, that is the key to the movie’s success.
Analysis: Director Arun Vaseegaran shocks the audience with the way these two tonally dissimilar tunes combine. Most of the time, the investigation goes well, and the filmmaker does a good job of keeping the mystery hidden until the big reveal. Trisha’s vulnerability is also used in the film by causing us to worry about her safety. There is one moment in particular that is thrilling since it is set in a maze of rocks. The best part of the film, though, is how it makes us feel horrible for the villain. Strong writing in this part explains how a significant character changes.
The movie, however, turns out to be fairly cliched after the identity of the person responsible for the horrifying acts on the highway is exposed.
Since there weren’t any more storyline developments at that moment, it appears that the film opted to continue. The videography is just as good at overwhelming us into a state of surrender as the aural backdrop soundtrack (by Sam CS).
The actual star of the film, though, is Shabeer Kallarakal, who excels in a role with nuanced undertones and turns in a spectacular performance.
Technicalities: A couple who are stuck on the highway are murdered by thieves in the opening scene of The Road. The movie keeps up its fast pacing from that point on thanks to some outstanding narration by the director.
Arun Vaseegaran deserves praise for his compelling and suspenseful novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Once Meera starts looking into the accident, the story’s tension becomes even more.
The background music by Sam CS is flawless, and the images by KG Venkatesh are stunning.
The Road has a solid technical crew that produced a nice product, with the exception of editor Shivaraj who could have been a little more harsh when reducing the climax.
Verdict: The one real drawback to The Road is that its climax drags on for much too long. Other than that, the movie is a compelling thriller that is well worth your time and money.
Rating: 2.5/5
