Arvindh Srinivasan's Dejavu, featuring newcomer Arvindh Srinivasan, starts off impressively. The story follows a drunken novelist who claims to possess Extra Sensory Power (ESP) and is able to predict crimes. He writes about the abduction of a young girl, only to find out that his fictional account has become a reality the following day. His predictions are so precise that he even manages to predict the suspects' vehicle numbers before they board it. However, although the novelist's prediction game is initially entertaining, the movie fails to sustain momentum as the investigation into the crime becomes cumbersome. As a result, the audience ends up predicting the upcoming events rather than the writer in the story. The film lacks an equally interesting investigation track, which would have helped to maintain its momentum.

Cast: Arulnithi, Madhoo, Achyuth Kumar, Kali Venkat, Smruthi Venkat
Director: Arvindh Srinivasan

Dejavu, directed by debutant Arvindh Srinivasan, starts off promisingly with an interesting premise. The story revolves around a drunken novelist who claims to possess Extra Sensory Power (ESP) and is able to predict crimes. He writes about the abduction of a young girl, only to find out that his fictional account has become a reality the following day. His predictions are so precise that he even manages to predict the suspects' vehicle numbers before they board it.

However, as the investigation into the crime progresses, the film starts to lose its momentum. In an attempt to make the twists unpredictable, the director sabotages the little he had built until then by making his leads react in unusual ways and take the oddest decisions. The illogical choices made by the characters take the audience for granted and undermine the progress the film had made until then. For instance, in an ideal world, the writer would have been taken into custody within hours, and the secret behind the ESP would have been out in minutes. But here, the DGP appoints a dull PC to oversee the writer as he happily pens the crime scenes, sipping a glass of booze.

The penultimate reveals towards the end of the whodunit make the audience wonder more about "Whys" and "Hows." Unfortunately, the filmmaker uses monologues to drop these reveals, and almost every main character goes on a confession spree as if they were waiting for their turn in a queue. Visual storytelling could have mitigated the damage caused by this approach.

Despite the unengaging ride, the performances by Achyuth Kumar and Arulnithi and Ghibran's terrific score keep us invested in the movie. However, casting a limited actor like Madhoo in a role with layers takes an extra toll on the overall film.

It is also worth noting that Dejavu was shot simultaneously in Telugu as Repeat, with Naveen Chandra in Arulnithi's role. Unfortunately, significant chunks of the Telugu version were retained in the Tamil version, adding to the film's misery.

In conclusion, while Dejavu had the potential to be an interesting thriller, the unconvincing plot and the illogical choices made by the characters hinder its success. The movie lacks an equally interesting investigation track, which would have helped maintain its momentum. Despite the committed performances by the lead actors and the fantastic score, Dejavu is not a movie that one would remember for the right reasons.