After a more personal and emotional tale in Nandhalala, director Mysskin returns to Anjaathey territory with his latest film Yudham Sei, a thriller. Shorn of distractions like romance and comedy and realistically capturing an interesting investigation, it is a focused and suspenseful police procedural. But the investigation itself is more involving than what lies at the end of it.

Boxes containing severed arms have been discovered at different spots in the city and the case is assigned to JK(Cheran), a CBCID officer. JK, who is still distraught over the disappearance of his younger sister 3 months ago, takes up the case rather reluctantly.

The film works well as a realistic police procedural that involves a dogged pursuit of leads and painstaking analysis of data. Since we aren't initially privy to any more information than what Cheran has, we are in his shoes as he questions suspects and witnesses, collects clues and information and tries to find answers to tough questions. The film lays out the exhausting nature of such investigations very well as he comes up against hostile witnesses, dead ends and beauracratic red tape. So as the picture becomes clearer and Cheran closes in on the answers, the gains seem well-deserved.

The mystery is also unravelled in an engrossing manner. As Cheran digs deeper, the way the investigation widens and turns into something very different from what it started out as is brought about naturally. The realism of the proceedings is helped by the fact that Mysskin doesn't sensationalize anything. The movie has its share of surprises(like the identity of the kingpin behind the racket) and plot twists. But these are presented in a matter-of-fact manner without the usual accompaniments(like slo-mo shots or a suddenly loud background score) that serve to highlight them.

But beyond a certain point, things become somewhat predictable since what Cheran uncovers is rather cliched. There are still surprises(like the reason behind the locations for the cardboard boxes) but the story that lies underneath is filled with familiar elements like victimized girls, rich and powerful men and corrupt cops and is driven by the usual emotion of revenge. So there is a sense of deja vu as the answers are uncovered.

As always, Mysskin's camera keeps us involved even when the story doesn't. Its almost as if Mysskin's trying to throw us off with his visual style. From simple camera movements(like in an early scene between Cheran and his superior, when the camera moves between the two but focuses on the listener rather than the speaker) to trademark camera angles(like the multiple places when we see the lower halves of whoever is on screen) to camera acrobatics(like the upside-down view that starts off the movie post-intermission), Mysskin delights in surprising us with the way we see things.

Cheran is a surprisingly effective choice to play the lead. As a man who has no zest for life, no time for niceties and a single-minded obsession towards his job, he nails the role. He is believable even in the fight sequence which sees him single-handedly and effortlessly take down a group of thugs. The rest of the cast is comprised of new and somewhat familiar faces. Jayaprakash is solid as the post-mortem doctor while Lakshmi is more impressive than Y.G.Mahendra as their characters go from familiar to not-so-familiar shades as the movie progresses. Director Ameer and Neetu Chandra participate in an item number filled with familiar Mysskin touches - a yellow saree for Neetu Chandra and simple steps. K's background score is good. It doesn't always follow the template for thrillers but is always effective.