Kattalan review: Antony Varghese's film is all style, little substance

As the band Queen once said, “Another One Bites the Dust.” The latest Malayalam crime-action thriller, Kattalan, has seemingly fallen prey to the curse of pan-Indian ambition. Ever since the breakout success of the KGF and Pushpa franchises, many films have attempted to recreate the same larger-than-life magic on screen, and many have failed.

Now comes debutant director Paul George’s Kattalan, backed by the makers of Marco, another pan-Indian success, in an attempt to deliver yet another stylised action spectacle. But does Kattalan, which appears to exist in the same world as Marco, live up to its predecessor? Let’s find out.

The forest of Annakolli, situated along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, has become a nightmare for the villagers living within it. Constant elephant attacks have left only a handful of survivors, forcing the terrified locals to seek the help of Maari Anna, a well-known hunter. But as Maari hunts down the rogue tusker, he also seizes control of the village, cuts off its ties with the outside world, brings in hunters and their families, and builds a powerful syndicate centred around elephant tusk smuggling.

Twenty years later, Maari (Sunil) stands as the feared head of an established cartel but faces growing opposition from Eddie (Kabir Duhan Singh) and his influential associates. To strengthen his hold, Maari turns to George D’Peter — Marco’s father — who sends Antony (Antony Varghese), a skilled smuggler, to assist him. Antony enters the syndicate, earns the trust of the hunters and their families, and gradually rises through the ranks of Maari’s men. But in the process, he also witnesses the suffering and exploitation within the forest.

How does Antony navigate this dangerous world? Will he remain loyal to Maari and his cartel operations, or turn against him for the sake of the people trapped within Annakolli? What role does Eddie play in this violent power struggle? And what surprises does the film hold right up to its post-credit sequence? Hyper-stylised answers to these questions — answers largely devoid of substance — form the plot of the film.

How does Antony navigate this dangerous world? Will he remain loyal to Maari and his cartel operations, or turn against him for the sake of the people trapped within Annakolli? What role does Eddie play in this violent power struggle? And what surprises does the film hold right up to its post-credit sequence? Hyper-stylised answers to these questions — answers largely devoid of any substance — form the plot of the film.

Debutant director Paul George, who has co-written the film, took on the monumental task of delivering a follow-up to the blockbuster Marco, but seemingly succumbed to the pressure. The plot, on paper, shows potential — perhaps the same kind of promise seen in Vijay Deverakonda’s Kingdom — but much like that film, Kattalan falters in execution. What begins as an interesting character integration eventually drowns under the burden of being whitewashed into a morally clean figure, something that feels entirely unnecessary.

The pressure to pad the film with commercial elements also plays a major role in reducing it to an average entertainer at best. A story and conflict that needed to feel raw and grounded are instead given the Marco, Pushpa, and KGF treatment, which ultimately hinders the overall output rather than elevating it.

With crisp editing and an unending barrage of action sequences packed into the narrative, accompanied by non-stop background music blasting throughout, there is very little scope for performances in the film. Even when the actors do get a moment to shine, it becomes difficult to notice because the camera rarely stays still. Still, amidst all the chaos, Sunil delivers a convincing performance. Although his character in Kattalan carries shades of his role from Pushpa, his menacing screen presence remains undeniable.

Antony Varghese shoulders the film. Although a considerable amount of time passes before his introduction, once he enters, the narrative revolves entirely around him. While his presence is impressive, the film’s inconsistent execution prevents the character from leaving a lasting impact. Jagadish, too, delivers a notable performance. However, one question lingers — if Kattalan exists in the same world as Marco, is Jagadish’s Ali meant to be a long-lost brother of Tony Isaac, the villain from Marco?

Technically, the film falters far more than it impresses. While a few innovative action set-pieces have been conceptualised, most of them fail in execution and never become as engaging as they should have been. At several points, it almost feels as though the makers themselves gave up midway through production

Action choreography works best when it is designed around an actor’s strengths, and that is where Kattalan stumbles again. Antony Varghese, who is quite literally a boxer, is instead given exaggerated kicks and stylised movements that do not feel natural to him. The excessive camera movement and overpowering background score further dilute the impact of these sequences — a problem that persists throughout the film.

Kattalan is not entirely devoid of ideas. Buried beneath all the slow-motion shots, roaring background music, and hyper-stylised action is a premise that could have made for a far more gripping and grounded thriller. But in its desperate attempt to become the next big pan-Indian spectacle, the film loses sight of its emotional core and narrative strength. What remains is a visually loud action entertainer that occasionally impresses with its ambition, but rarely with its storytelling.