Spoiler-free review. Spoiler review below.
Karthik Subbaraj’s last project, 2023’s ‘Jigarthanda DoubleX’ remains one of the best Tamil films of the decade thus far. A fantastically crafted meta subversion of the Western genre, ‘Jigarthanda DoubleX’ scored highly in every department of filmmaking. Subbaraj’s new release ‘Retro’ sees him collaborating with actor Suriya. Following a slump in filmic output, Suriya looks to Subbaraj and his unique directorial vision to shake him out of his funk. Where most directors would choose to pursue trending stories and styles to reclaim their audience, Subbaraj does the exact opposite for his star. Once again oxymoronically, Subbaraj offers the audience old wine in an almost unrecognisably new bottle and continues to expand Tamil film’s scope and possibilities.
The film follows Paarivel Kannan (Suriya) and his relationship with Rukmini (Pooja Hegde) which is repeatedly tested by Paarivel’s inclination for violence. Disclosing more information on the plot or even commenting on its development would be doing the film a huge disservice, but Subbaraj manages to execute something very admirable with ‘Retro’.
The cast play their roles brilliantly. Suriya matches the comic book style of filmmaking with a portrayal equally two dimensional, which works in the film’s favour. Pooja Hegde provides her best performance in the Tamil industry yet as Paari’s love interest. Other standout performances include the cartoonish trio of Joju George’s Thilagan, Nasser’s Rajavel Mirasu and Vidhu’s Michael Mirasu.
Apart from a few instances of dodgy special effects (especially those including swords), the film’s technical crew understood the assignment fully. Cinematographer Shreyaas Krishna and the lighting team had their work cut out for them. An excellently orchestrated long one take sequence, a sublimely shot scene at night on a beach and an action sequence on a train are examples of the level of work required of the cinematographer. The costume department provide the characters with outfits that loudly reflect their personalities. The stunt team coordinate brash and flashy sequences while editor Shafique Mohamed Ali keeps the pace of these blocks crisp.
Composer Santhosh Narayanan’s score and soundtrack fits the film well. The viral track ‘Kanimaa’ is an infectious celebratory tune that will certainly become a mainstay in wedding playlists of the future. ‘The One’ is a rousing anthem with vocals from Sid Sriram, Narayanan and Shan Vincent de Paul (in what is perhaps the rapper’s best contribution to a Narayanan track yet). The songs of yearning ‘Kannadi Poove’ and ‘Edharkaga Marubadi’ also hit their mark with the emotions they wish to stir thanks to great vocals from Punya Selva and Narayanan as well as Vivek’s lyrics.
Overall, ‘Retro’ reminds us that the line between madness and genius is indeed thin. Once again, Subbaraj seems to do the impossible by blending and mashing up wide-reaching influences that often feel counterintuitive until all loose ties somehow come together at the end. A lot happens in ‘Retro’; the experience of watching the film is baffling for the most part. But somehow, against all odds, Subbaraj manages to make it work.
Krishna's rating: 4 stars
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Extended review including spoilers.
Karthik Subbaraj answers the questions no one but him would think to ask: “What if Quentin Tarantino directed a film like 1983’s ‘Thai Veedu’ or even 1969’s ‘Adimai Penn’ in the style of a Bruce Lee feature? What if an SP Muthuraman film formula was fused with a Shaw Brothers Studio or Concord Production Inc.’s aesthetic and form?” The result of this cross-continent Frankenstein endeavour is ‘Retro’: a film which shocks the viewer with the old school. How does a director famed for subverting expectations do something new? How does a star revive and reinvigorate his career? By doing something very old, very tried and very tested. To top this off, Subbaraj takes the theme of ‘retro’ even further back by reaching to Hindu mythology and presenting us with a parallel to the Krishna Leelai, focussing from Krishna’s birth to his defeat and murder of his maternal uncle King Kamsa.
Subbaraj is religiously committed to the form throughout the film. There is almost no time for love in his genre romance film, using it as mere motivation for action aplenty. The macguffin of the ‘goldfish’ brings to mind the literal golden fish from another Muthuraman feature, 1980’s ‘Guru’ and is an element that serves to push the narrative forward. Joju George’s golden armed foster father, Nasser’s grumpy curmudgeon and Vidhu’s brand of hippie tyranny feel like a cocktail of Tamil and East Asian supervillains of a bygone era, finding common ground that others may miss. An ‘item song’ is also included, perhaps a reluctant first for Subbaraj, which is also fitting for this homage (it is hilariously cut short by the director).
And then, in a meta turn of events, Subbaraj retrospectively revisits some of his filmography through ‘Retro.’ As well as nods to ‘Petta,’ ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ and ‘Mahaan’ the climax here is a subversion of the ending to ‘Jigarthanda DoubleX,’ providing the audience with an alternate, happier conclusion to a similar situation. Even down to ending the film with a wedding where antagonists suddenly convert and bow down to the greatness of the hero, and an end title card reads ‘Subam,’ Subbaraj sticks vehemently to the formula. Is any of this nuanced and sensitive? Certainly not - but what would you expect from a commercial 1980s Tamil/Hong Kong martial arts film?
For most of the film, I felt as if Subbaraj had lost the plot. I wondered if this was the same director who had made a great work of art two years ago. For most of its runtime, the chaos of everything being introduced - all the ideas and themes: the power of love, trauma, grief, toxic masculinity, exploitation, hierarchical dynamics, colonialism, the ethics of violence, the value of life, revolutionary politics to name a few - are overwhelming. There were moments where it felt like the film was making some semblance of narrative sense, but these were few and far between, with too many loose, disparate threads that seemingly had no way of coalescing. However, Krishna is a trickster, and so is Subbaraj (check the climax of 2019’s ‘Petta’). He proves once again the mastery he has over the medium through this zany creation. Is it successful in what it sets out to do? Does it fully work? I’m not completely sure and would require a rewatch to be certain. But the more I reconsider the film, the more I admire Subbaraj for pulling off this ludicrous stunt. I understand if there are detractors for ‘Retro’ but, personally, I am very glad it exists, am once again in awe of Subbaraj’s skill, and overjoyed that he continues to push the boundaries of Tamil mainstream cinema.
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Official trailer for film below.
