The terrorists' demands are simple:100 crores, and the release of uber-terrorist Yusuf Khan from prison.passengers, each of whom plays an important role during the perilous journey. There's Sandhya (Sana Khan), a peppy software techie; her sarcastic and unlikely friend Vinod (Rishi); Father Alphonse (M S Bhaskar), always ready to lend a hand to help and with the voice of God in his heart; Colonel Jagadeesh (Thalaivaasal Vijay), a ex-army man eager to find solutions to problems; Subash (Kumaravel) an unemployed atheist who snarks constantly at his seat-mate, astrologer Narayana Shastry (Mano Bala); mimicry artist Gopinath and his friend Afshana; Venkat Ram (Mohan Ram) and his wife, together with fellow-passenger Divya; 'Shining Star' Chandrakanth (Prithviraj), king of masala action movies and his ardent fan, Balaji (Chaams).
On the other end of the spectrum, is the mixture of government bureaucrats who talk riddles in air-conditioned rooms, more concerned about the upcoming elections than the 100 odd passengers stuck on the runway. Caught in the crossfire, so to speak, is N Viswanath (Prakashraj), IAS, Home Secretary tries to liaison between bureaucrats and action-men, failing and winning by turns. It's a nice touch that he and Major Raveendra have already run into each other before, and joke that they 'never see each other unless there's a crisis.' The last time they met was during the 26/11 tragedy.
Nagarjuna, one of Telugu's favourite mass heroes makes an entry in Tamil after a long break, and it's a relief to see someone of his stature attempt a role that's completely devoid of mass-heroics. There are no punch-dialogues and heavy-duty stunt sequences. In fact, he even gets to mock large-than-life movie heroes a good many times, and has obviously had a blast doing it. Even more intriguing is the fact the he doesn't really have a solid presence in the first half; he comes into his own only in the second. In deference to his role, he has delivered a restrained performance. And he certainly looks the part of a trim, fit commando.
Prakashraj is his usual, overwhelming self but thankfully, this is mostly restricted. Every one of the secondary characters, starting from Rishi, to Kumaraval (a Radhamohan favourite), to the mimicry artist has done a neat job.
K V Guhan's camera-work is neat, sweeping the airport and surroundings when necessary and getting right into the players' personal space, to grab a sense of immediacy. Kishore's editing is adequate; Pravin Mani's background score could have been better.
The real hero of this journey, though, is Radhamohan himself. Attempting a Hollywood-like action-drama is one thing; to do it with the enormous research it requires, even while adding the right local flavour is no mean feat. Despite claims that it's based on the Kandahar hi-jack, Payanam is largely a stand-alone film. The sequences are logical, even while allowing for dashes of humour, soul-searching and feel-good factors; the whole setting has a realistic feel that draws you in.
Yes, Payanam does have minor problems in pacing, but the drama carries you through, right to a nail-biting finish. A must-watch.
Rating:3.5/5
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