There is a temple common to 2 villages Kariyur – Sivanendal in Ramanathapuram district. 2 villages compete in taking over its administration. It is decided to give the administration of the temple to the town that wins Jallikattu. For this, the elders of the village are looking for Villichami (Adukulam Naren) who has settled in Chennai. His son Sethu (Sasikumar), a horse jockey, comes to town with the elders. Did he participate in Jallikattu, the film tells us in whose hands the temple administration went.
Director Hemanth is trying to tell a deep story in the debut film like the relationship between man and animal, the corporate crowd wandering for the meat of Jallikattu cows, the affection for the bulls who live as one of the family, Karuppan who guards the town as a statue with a weapon, and the authority to trash the town.
The director can be appreciated for the entertaining dialogues, the character of the raging bull called ‘Kari’, the village gates smelling of cows, the way the sun showed the nature and incapacity of the people, the natural love scene, the aggressive jallikattu etc.
But in the introductory eagerness to dump the whole story, the screenplay is stuck, like putting 5 apples in a 5-rupee bag, after adding a lot of things into the story.
Such a character fits Sasikumar like a tailor-made model. Sasikumar, who makes the difference between a pants-wearing horse jockey in Chennai and a clothed helper in the village, remembers his father when he shouts, ‘Don’t you know how to make even one dosa’?
Parvathy Arun, who is making her debut in Tamil, portrays the original village girl. Everything from his clothes to his body language speaks volumes. As he rolls down and cries in front of the father who sold ‘Kari’, he easily conveys to us the relationship between Mat and him, who have become one of the family.
Corporate villain JT Chakraborty’s character is not well understood but gives a menacing performance. Balaji Sakthivel as the heroine’s alcoholic father, social activist Adukalam Naren, Prem as Sasikumar’s friend, elder Nagi Needu, friend Ammu Abhirami, Ramkumar and the occasional laugher Redin Kingsley are doing their job well.
In Imaan’s music, the songs and background score help to carry the heavy story with ease. Ganesh Chandra’s cinematography vividly captures the feeling of rolling and rolling in the climactic Jallikattu.
‘Kari’ would have been more enjoyable if the shocking child scene that was set up to make Sethu decide to come to the village, and some unnecessary scenes including Ammu Abhirami, who is in Chennai, comes to the village and is with Sethu.