Bogan review: "Arvind Swamy rocks even as the film falters in the latter half!!!"

Tamil Nadu has been in the news ever since Puratchi Thalaivi passed away be it the public rallying against the Jallikattu ban or unrest among sections of the society over the decision to elevate Sasikala to the post of CM. So this invariably meant there hasnt been any major releases this year apart from "Bhairava". However, last weekend saw the release of "Bogan" which saw the combo of Jayam Ravi-Arvind Swamy joining hands after the success of "Thani Oruvan" more than a year back. So can the duo recreate the magic yet again???

Aditya Maravarman (Arvind Swamy) belonged to the royal lineage who still led a posh lifestyle except that this was not acquired as heirloom but rather through magic. He used to work as an assistant to noted archaeologist, Chezhiyan (Nassar) & during one of the excavations he happened to lay hands on the scriptures of the saint Bogar who had acquired the mystical powers of body swapping. With such power at his disposal, he loots banks & jewelries at will by swapping into bodies of unsuspecting individuals. During one such endeavor, the victim happened to be ACP Vikram's (Jayam Ravi) father who launches an exhaustive search for the mastermind before zeroing in on Aditya. But it soon turned out that finding the culprit was easier than bringing him before the law. 

After the forgetful "Romeo Juliet", Lakshman is back with his latest venture "Bogan" hoping to make amends for the former. Even though, the script is credited to himself & K Chandra; it was nothing more than a concoction of "Hot Chick"/"Face Off"/ a segment of "Ezham Arivu". Lakshman builds up the story interestingly with a cracking first half (minus the cringy romantic scenes) thanks largely to the suave Arvind Swamy. In the latter half, the film falters as it meanders to a predictable climax even as both the lead stars makes it engaging for the audience with their performance. Soundarajan has done a fine job with the cinematography while D Imman's music was mediocre though I did like the BGM. Antony could have trimmed the latter half much more judiciously & made it breezy.

As in "Thani Oruvan", Arvind Swamy steals the show yet again with a cracking performance as the baddie. His eccentricities & sly nature will be lapped up by the audience. Even Jayam Ravi has done a fine job, though he seemed a bit up-tight when he essayed the character of Vikram & ends up second best. Hansika Motwani was nothing more than an absolute torture while the rest of the characters could have been better etched such as Nasar & Jayam Ravi's colleagues. 

Verdict: With no credible competition in the vicinity, the film should fare reasonably well in all centres. Even though the film is let down by a rather trite latter half, it still has ample moments which makes it interesting for the audience courtesy of the star duo. In short, it will come across as an inferior version of "Thani Oruvan" but you can still give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben