A Wednesday seemed like a strange choice for a Tamil remake. Unlike Hindi cinema, Tamil cinema is still plagued by masala aspects like the image constraints of its stars and forcibly inserted commercial elements and the lack of those was exactly why the Hindi film was so effective. But the decision made sense once we heard that Kamalhassan was associated with it. The actor has never backed away from risk and takes another big one by remaining quite faithful to the original in Unnaippol Oruvan. His stature as an actor dilutes some of the surprise and power of the original but the single-minded focus on the story, the complete absence of unnecessary commercial trappings and the suitably lean running time all make it a solid film.

The film begins with retired Commissioner of Police Raghavan Marar(Mohanlal) reminiscing about a man who, on one single day, turned his life upside down. That man was a bearded, bespectacled individual(Kamalhassan) who calmly went about planting powerful explosives at five different places in Chennai and then called Marar to let him know of the same. His demand? Four jailed terrorists should be released. That began a tense war of words between the two as Marar tried to find the man and save the city.

At heart, Unnaippol Oruvan has a storyline similar to Death Wish-inspired movies (like Naan Sigappu Manidhan, for instance) - a man is frustrated with a particular evil and takes the law into his own hands to deal with it. It does differ from those movies in the size of the canvas(with respect to what he is frustrated with) and his use of brain rather than brawn. But the biggest difference comes from his characterization. Kamal is a completely anonymous individual and we only know as little about him in the end as we know at the beginning. Even the reasons for his actions are not personal. This is rather daring since it disallows an emotional connection with the character, something that most movies strive for. But the complete lack of individuality separates the film - and its hero - from the pack since its his motive rather than who he is, that is important.

Apart from the suspense about Kamal's motives, what drives the movie initially are the sequences in Mohanlal's office. The policemen we see in Tamil cinema are either superheroes or corrupt but here we get a group of ordinary cops ready to do their duty. Both the political and the functional side of Mohanlal's job are on display as he fights with the Chief Secretary for control and tries to save his city. Some of the dialogs here are a bit artificial but the sharpness and humor make up for that.

While Kamal is arguably the Tamil actor with the least concern about his image, he still brings along with him the baggage of a star and a hero since he has not played certain kinds of roles. So inspite of some convincing scenes(like one of the terrorist's reason for becoming who he was, which by the way, has an interesting symmetry since Kamal's later story and this both involve a pregnant woman), the culmination of Kamal's plan is not that big a surprise. Still his reasoning is forceful and the moral implications of his last request are interesting.

I never thought I'd ever say this but for about two-thirds of the movie, Kamal doesn't seem like the right actor for his role. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, while Kamal certainly looks the part of the 'common man' he is supposed to be, his accent and the script, with its liberal use of English, don't fit in. He may look like someone we pass on the road but once he starts talking, he certainly doesn't sound like a man stuck at the end of the ration store queue. This creates a disconnect not dissimilar to what happened when the older Surya used all those hip words in Vaaranam Aayiram. And just like it seemed there that it was Gautham talking and not the character, here too it is Kamal who we see talking and not the character. Secondly, maybe its all these years of playing the hero but there's a subtle streak of style, heroism and bravado that doesn't sit well on the character. Its in the way he stretches his hands, the twinkle in his eyes, the supreme confidence in his actions. He is implementing a huge plan and his reasons(that we learn later) are very serious but his expressions and body language don't convey that. There are times when it seems like its all just a game to him. Quite a few times during the movie, I had the feeling that it would've been better if Kamal and Mohanlal switched roles.

Kamal finally changes the above impression in the unbroken shot where he talks about the reasons for his actions. As he conveys frustration, anger and grief during the course of that monologue, he is completely convincing as the voice of several similar people who experience the same emotions but are unable to do anything about it. Mohanlal is one of those actors who makes acting seem effortless and here he shows us what a great actor can do with even a familiar role. The tension, the frustration and the confusion about the moral implications of his actions are all conveyed in a wonderfully measured way. His Malayalam accent and occasional lapses into pure Malayalam make his character very realistic and he gets some of the best lines in the film. Lakshmi initially looks as though she would have a big part to play but is sidelined while Ganesh Venkatraman, who was hidden under a turban and a beard in Abhiyum Naanum, is impressive as the ATS officer. Shruti Hassan makes an impressive debut. The background score is suitably low-key and doesn't overwhelm the proceedings.