Muthu Alias Kaattaan Review: Vijay Sethupathi-Starrer Is A Slow Burner

The entire series revolves around the shocking discovery of a man's head on the outskirts of a village in Tamil Nadu. The village police station is all set to shut down as there are no police cases filed for months on end when the man's severed head is found along with a bag full of cash and a note. 

This bewildering case sets in motion a new lease of life for Constable Kaalai Pandiyan (Vadivel Murugan), whose family
business is goat herding, and Sub-Inspector Siddharthan. The police team sets off on an investigation that takes them to numerous places across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. As they delve into who this body-less man was, they find out his name is Muthu (Vijay Sethupathi), thanks to an elderly villager (Balaji Shaktivel) and how complicated his life actually was.

Muthu had so many intriguing jobs that the police ended up on a roller-coaster ride that didn't seem to stop. Muthu was a bouncer for a dance troupe, a manager at an orphanage, a watch repairman, a goat dung-seller, a mahout and yet, someone who was extremely benevolent with money. 

His Kerala connections of Sivettan, a North Indian, and Johny (Sudev Nair) stand out as does that of Benny, a Kerala MLA. How were all these men connected? And who was this mysterious Muthu, really? Why was he found dead?

National Award-winning director B Manikandan has created the series and co-directed it with B Ajith Kumar. The 10-episode series that is streaming on Jio Hotstar chooses the slow, deliberate route, taking its time to establish Muthu's life journey, his world, and the circumstances that shape him into the man he becomes. 

It is a slow burner, and it's the atmosphere, character writing, and emotional depth that the writers capitalise on to engage the audience. Muthu's life is intricately explored over numerous episodes where we are shown how his life circumstances, i.e. his relationships, struggles, victories, humiliations and loyalties, make him who he is. The audience is made to understand why Muthu does what he does. 

The writing here is extremely layered, and there are subplots with the supporting characters, too, where we see that they have their own motivations.

However, what may not work for everyone is the slow pace of this series. There are stretches where the narrative seems to linger a little too long, and crisp editing could have made some episodes have more emotional impact. This crime drama requires patience, and perhaps, the filmmakers deliberately chose this narrative style to let Muthu's story grow on the audience and allow them to savour each episode rather than rush through it.

Vijay Sethupathi is not just the antagonist of the Tamil web series but also the producer. This is not the first time that the Tamil star has been seen in a web series (Farzi, The Family Man), but it's his debut in a Tamil one. 

Headlining a crime thriller and one that is set in rural Tamil Nadu is a cakewalk for Vijay Sethupathi, as he has done numerous roles in both genres on the big screen. In Muthu Alias Kaattaan, the Kollywood star's performance is understated yet powerful. There's very little melodrama in the way he portrays the character of Muthu; much of the emotion is internalised, which makes the performance feel real and authentic. 

There are scenes where we get glimpses of Sethupathi's trademark charm and disengaging charisma, and those add lightness to an otherwise heavy role. Talented supporting artists, like Singam Puli and Vadivel Murugan, add more gravitas to the series and make the story more rooted. 

As for the technical aspects, the cinematography captures the different environments effectively, and the background score is used sparingly, which works in favour of the storytelling. Silence is a big part of this web series, and it has been used effectively to capture the moods and emotions in various scenes. However, editing could have been crisper, and the story could perhaps have been succinctly told in eight episodes.

Muthu Alias Kaattaan is not a web series that tries to impress you immediately, it takes time and grows on you, episode by episode, as Muthu's life unfolds piece by piece on screen.