Kathir covers the life of the main character, Venkatesh, who is a novice. Following a squabble with his father, the unemployed engineering graduate relocates to Chennai, where he has a lovely love-hate relationship with his old house owner (Rajini Chandy). The latter, whom Kathir refers to as 'paati,' promises to assist Kathir in establishing a footing in the city.
The story has all of the elements in place to produce a solid film about a unique friendship between a naive, impetuous, egoistic kid and a wise and compassionate elderly woman at this point. Unfortunately, we will not be seeing that film. From here on out, the screenplay follows a simple structure: a flashback for Kathir, a flashback for Paati, and a resolution.
Kathir's flashback is unnecessarily long and uninteresting, despite a lovely music. It seems like a mash-up of scenes from movies like premam and Hridayam. There's a battle sequence set in a college field that looks suspiciously similar to the Kalippu fight sequence from premam, and there may be more such inspirations sprinkled throughout the film. This fight is futile in Kathir, unlike in premam, where it was designed to highlight George's abrupt shift in demeanour.
Thankfully, the paati's flashback is better. The cinematography, 4:3 aspect ratio, and brownish colour grade all contribute to the film's success. Santhosh Prathap appears in a cameo role as the paati's late husband, and the emotions in these scenes are much more effective. The tone of the picture shifts dramatically after the second flashback, and it almost becomes another 'vivasayi' film. Unlike many other films of this type, Kathir really focuses on a practical solution; nevertheless, the narrative drags it out for far too long, and it becomes tiresome again.
The story has all of the elements in place to produce a solid film about a unique friendship between a naive, impetuous, egoistic kid and a wise and compassionate elderly woman at this point. Unfortunately, we will not be seeing that film. From here on out, the screenplay follows a simple structure: a flashback for Kathir, a flashback for Paati, and a resolution.
Kathir's flashback is unnecessarily long and uninteresting, despite a lovely music. It seems like a mash-up of scenes from movies like premam and Hridayam. There's a battle sequence set in a college field that looks suspiciously similar to the Kalippu fight sequence from premam, and there may be more such inspirations sprinkled throughout the film. This fight is futile in Kathir, unlike in premam, where it was designed to highlight George's abrupt shift in demeanour.
Thankfully, the paati's flashback is better. The cinematography, 4:3 aspect ratio, and brownish colour grade all contribute to the film's success. Santhosh Prathap appears in a cameo role as the paati's late husband, and the emotions in these scenes are much more effective. The tone of the picture shifts dramatically after the second flashback, and it almost becomes another 'vivasayi' film. Unlike many other films of this type, Kathir really focuses on a practical solution; nevertheless, the narrative drags it out for far too long, and it becomes tiresome again.
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