Dragon – My Flash Review!

Within a few minutes into the film, we understand the backstory behind the title, which is quite interesting in itself. D. Raghavan, a studious young man, changes his name to Dragon to elevate his “cool” quotient in college and attract good-looking girls. From this point on, he embarks on a path of self-destruction, with his only goal being to remain cool and appealing to girls. Now, what this implies about today’s girls, as depicted in this film, is another matter. For a long time, I have had an issue with films portraying girls as attracted to aimless, listless, and addicted boys whose only virtue is “being cool”! Dragon, for about an hour, also follows this path only to redeem itself in the second half.

The film, in my opinion, features one of the best screenplays seen in recent Tamil commercial cinema. This is what saves the film and elevates it in the second half, even after navigating a slippery slope for most of the 1^st half. The film could have easily been criticized for its confusing morality, but it ultimately turns this into a strength by the end through its cleverly written screenplay.

The story follows the journey of an intelligent lower-middle-class boy who gets carried away in college and ends up with arrears in 48 subjects. Despite this, his manipulative and crooked mind secures him a well-paying job along with the associated trappings—a swanky car, a luxury flat, and marriage prospects. As life seems to progress smoothly for him, a villain emerges, at which point the film becomes intriguing. Whether and how the young man redeems himself forms the remainder of the film. One particularly funny and revealing scene involves faking an online interview. Kudos to the director for creating realistic scenarios set in an IT company.

Pradeep Ranganathan, who co-wrote the story with director Aswath Marimuthu, plays the protagonist. He is present in nearly every frame of the film and successfully embodies the role despite not fitting the typical hero stereotype. For the most part, he reminds us of Dhanush, with his lean frame and expressive face. Anupama Parameswaran plays the initial love interest of Pradeep and is impressive; she is both attractive and adept at handling the emotional aspects of her character with ease. Another noteworthy performance comes from the director Mysskin, who plays his role quite naturally.

Following Ilaiyaraaja’s popularization of the raga Reeti Gowla in Tamil films with some of his iconic compositions, many music composers like Rahman and Vidya Sagar have followed suit. In Dragon, composer Leon James attempts a soothing melody using this raga in the song “Vazhithunaiye” as well as in the background score involving the lovers. The other song, “Yendi Vittu Pona,” reminded me of Sai Abhyankar’s viral song, “Aasa Kooda,” in various parts.

The film attempts to deliver a message for youngsters in the most commercial way possible.  A stunt sequence based on Hoare’s Partition/algorithm was an interesting and novel idea, as was the pun on “Return of the Dragon”! There is a line in the film where the hero’s friend tells him to close his eyes and sing and that he can achieve success by the time the song ends. This serves as a commentary on film songs where the hero transitions from rags to riches within the timeframe of a song. Ironically, following this dialogue, the Director depicts a similar transformation for the male lead.

As I mentioned earlier, in the first hour, the characterization of the lead is so negative that it’s difficult not to hate him. It is to the screenplay’s credit that by the time the film reaches its climax, sympathy for him develops. Presenting “Jolly’a irukanum (Be jolly), Class’a cut pannanum (Cut classes), and love pannanum (Should have a love affair)” as the motto for youngsters in college is problematic. Putting this aside, Dragon is enjoyable and worth watching! It is currently streaming on Netflix.