Movie Review : Leader

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Car mechanic Shakthivel ( Legend  Saravanan) lives with his girl child Irene ( Iyal) in Thoothakudi, after the demise of his wife( Payal Rajput)  He works at a mechanic shed near the port, owned by his boss ( VTV Ganesh) and services the cars of the powerful people at the port which includes dons indulging in nefarious activities. But Shakti keeps to himself. 


But as luck would have it, due to a series of circumstances involving a cop Indra ( Andrea) and her boss Bhaktavhalam ( Shaam), Shakti gets sucked into a dangerous situation with the gangs, and  his child Irene's safety is at risk. 





Who are these gangs? What do they want? How does an ordinary man like Shakti get out of this situation? Or is he not so ordinary after all...? 


Director Durai Senthilkumar has delivered as entertaining not just a hi octane action drama but also an emotional family subject, taking the viewer right from a humble home of an ordinary man to international gangs, exotic locations, undercover networks,  coupled with cops  battling corruption and duty, all woven into a fast paced screenplay that also allows you time to experience emotional bonds, loving relationships  and  humor with  simple but impactful  dialogues.

The making is grand and the canvas is huge. The port and harbour areas, rivetting action on highways involving container trucks, international locations and hi octane action blocks in modern trains, are all well  captured and executed by camera and stunt teams.

The edits are sharp and there are no lags. The film has a plethora of twists, which keep you engaged, right up to the climax.

Ghibran's music and bgm are a highlight, present but never imposing.

The songs dont distract from the story and will filmed with good visuals. The scenes between father and daughter and between  Sakthi and his wife are well executed. 

The tension and suspense of the story is built up well and keeps the viewer engaged till the end. 

The casting is one of the highlights of the film,  which adds to keeping you imvested.

Legend Saravanan delivers an impacttful performance in his second film.  He gets the emotions just  right,  never over doing anything at any point.  The scenes with Irene are delightful and  Iyal and Legend and their screen bond looks  natural and real, and is a highlight of the film.  Legend Saravanan does full justice to the action sequences as  well neatly delivers in the romance and song portions opposite Payal Rajput who has a meaty role and delivers superbly. The duo look good on screen and their camaraderie works well for the film. 

Santhosh Prathap gets a lengthy role and delivers a noteworthy act. Shaam is top notch as the cop while Andrea is fantastic as the cop and delivers an electrifying performance.

On the flip side, the film seems a tad rushed towards the end. 

But, the film has a  significant role for every member of the ensemble cast and each actor leaves a mark, including Amritha Iyer, George Maryan, VTV Ganesh and many others. 

Overall, Leader, with his  grand making, intetesting, unpredictable, storyline, superb and well chosen cast, Legend Saravanan's noteworthy performance, fast paced screenplay and good visuals, lots of twists, is an emotional drama high on action and suspense, that makes for a gripping and engaging family entertainer.

Rating 3.75/5





*LEADER*


*CAST* 


Legend Saravanan – Sakthivel (A.K.A) Ponmaran

Shaam - Bakthavachalam

Andrea Jeremiah – Indra Sathyamoorthy 

Santhosh Prathap – Devil

Payal Rajput - Meera

Lal – Sathyamoorthy

“Bahubali” Prabaharan - Salt

Amirtha Aiyer - Renuka

VTV Ganesh - Thangapazham

Iyal - Irene

Aishwarya – Durga 

Mariam George – Father

Pathmen – Vinoth

Yogiram – Yogi

Velarunchalam – Velu

Niranjan Thomas - Niranjan

Aranthanki Nisha - Devi

“Adithya” Kathir – Ferrari 

Badava Gopi – Government staff

Ashok Pandiyan – IG (Arunagiri)

Shoban Babu – DSP (James Kannan)

Vijayalakshmi – Fathima

Murugan – Constable (Indra Sidekick)

Jayasmirtha – Anusha

Kumar Natarajan – Team Lead

 

*CREW*


Writer & Director : R. S. Durai Senthilkumar 

Producer : Legend Saravana Stores Productions 

Music: Ghibran Vaibodha

Director Of Photography: Venkatesh S

Editor : Pradeep E Ragav 

Art Director: G. Durairaj

Stunts: Mahesh Mathew 

Costume Designer : Deepthi RJ (Legend Saravanan) , Poorthi Pravin (Andrea)

Dubbing Studio : Knack Studios

Dubbing : G.Kothandan B.Sc, D.F.Tech, G.VishnuvardhanM.sc.

VFX: PhantomFX

DI: LV Prasad Studios

COLOURIST: Ranga 

Sound MIXING : T.Udaykumar

Mixing Studio : Sound Vibe

Sound Design : A. Sathish Kumar

Sound Studio : Bang Studios

Publicity Designer : Prathool NT

Titles and Animation : Aaradhana Studios, Chennai

Songs : Kabilan, Viveka, Mohan Rajan

Dance : Sankkaraiyya D

PRO : Nikil Murukan

Digital Marketing: Digitally Powerful

Stills: SP Suresh

Costumer: P.Rangasamy

Make Up: N.Sakthivel

Audio Label : Think Music

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