Iraivan review: Jayam Ravi’s gory thriller has little mystery to offer

Iraivan opens with mutilated naked bodies of women, and introduces us to the “Smiley Killer”. The film wants you to believe that it’s akin to the many darkly thrilling Nordic crime dramas out there. But wanting you to believe something and putting in the effort to convince you of that are entirely different ventures. Series like the Danish language Chestnut Man, for example, which also features a killer with a similar modus operandi of horrifically disfiguring women victims, has two things Iraivan doesn’t — an intelligent script and a capable woman in the lead. 

In director I Ahmed’s Iraivan, women are just props in a bad story. They’re either bodies to be brutalised or in Nayanthara’s case, a footnote in an indifferent love track. When it’s neither, a victim is described with humiliating detail as a nymphomaniac. The outdated term, once used to indicate compulsive sexuality in women, has evolved. For this film, it’s simply a word to denounce a woman who chooses to have multiple sexual partners.  

The kind of shows Iraivan tries to mimic — the good ones that is, and there are many — put in careful work in creating the mystery and terror surrounding their antagonists. Iraivan comes at this aspect with all the delicacy of a sledgehammer. Unprofessional mental health practitioners make throwaway statements like — “He is perfectly normal. For a psychopath, that is.” A killer casually writes notes with blood. Victims and their families are repeatedly shown sobbing while generic sad music hits a crescendo and Jayam Ravi glowers into the distance. 

Glowering and torturing suspects is mainly what Jayam Ravi does in Iraivan. A reason for his obsessive, sullen demeanour is hastily established early on. He plays Arjun, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who retires mid-story, but continues on his warpath to find the killer. Clues, evidence,  a rudimentary understanding of mental health, or even basic logic are immaterial to him. Arjun’s only fuel is rage, so bodies keep dropping amid blood and screams to keep him fuming.  

There’s not much that’s impactful about Rahul Bose as one of the villains. What the actor possibly aimed for was unflappably cool. What comes through instead is about as unnerving as a Halloween mask. Vinoth Kishan, appearing in an interesting role, displays mercurial highs and lows. There are fleeting moments when he manages to make your stomach clench, but for the most part he’s left — bellowing and raging — to pull off an unimaginative cliche of people with mental health conditions.

In terms of an actual mystery, Iraivan offers precious little. The twists come too soon for an impact and are then glacially dragged out, relying instead on frantic music to keep up a pretence of suspense. As is often the case with Kollywood crime thrillers, women are present solely to be murdered and violated in countless ways, and cry and sob for help. Or they can be the hero’s background girlfriend with a saintly sense of virtue. If directors think the rest of human emotions and experiences are the dominion of men, the least they could do is write a hero who comes to life with a little more grace than a zombie. 

Nayantara, as Arjun’s love interest Priya, is made to function merely as a filler between murders. The romantic track appears to be there to tick a box, and for when the plot momentarily has nothing else to do.

Yuvan Shankar Raja delivers songs like ‘Azhagai’ and ‘Idhu Pola’ that may be nice to listen to on their own, but are rapidly swallowed up in the chaos of the film. 

Director Ahmed said in a pre-release interview that he’s tried to create a world that is scary and real. All that’s horror-inducing about this supposed thriller is its sense of entitlement about women’s lives and bodies.

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.

Watch Iraivan trailer