Suriya was just fantastic. Not that I'm surprised, but the ease with which he reinvents himself with every new movie is truly admirable and this time was no exception. Delivering a whole new level of performance, he really sets the bar high for himself with NGK. It was fascinating to see Nandha Gopalan Kumaran transform throughout the course of the story. Do-gooder, double-crosser or master manipulator, he sells it all and how! The songs all fit in aptly, even #AnbaePeranbae which I really was worried about since it seemed to not suit the general vibe of the rest of the album. Pothachaalum had me in a trance!

The lead ladies were amazing too, though I'd have loved to see more of them, and most other side characters too tbh. Considering everything that was going on, it did feel like a little too much was squeezed in with not enough elaboration at times. For instance, though there's no doubt about NGK being a complex and morally grey character, his transformation seemed abrupt at times and not entirely...natural? It wasn't a big enough problem to take away from the enjoyment of seeing his antics, but it did nag at me a little. Other instances like the meeting with the corporate "kingmakers", NGK's relationship with Vanathi & Geetha and more could have definitely been more fleshed out.

Whatever problems I had with the movie were negligible though, because damn, we really needed to see Suriya in a movie like this! He is such a delight to watch in complex roles, and NGK definitely ranks high up in my list of faves along with Michael and Athreya. So glad this movie was made!