Movie Name : Retro
Release Date : May 1, 2025
Cast : Suriya, Pooja Hegde, Jayaram, Joju George, Karunakaran, Nassar, Prakash Raj, Jayaram etc.
Director : Karthik Subbaraj
Music Director : Santhosh Narayanan
Andhrawatch.com Rating : 2.25/5
Story:
Parivel Kannan (Suriya) is the adopted son of Tilak (Joju George), but from a young age, he grows up without ever knowing what it means to smile. No matter how hard people around him try, Parivel never laughs—not as a child and not even as an adult. His life takes a turn when Rukmini (Pooja Hegde) enters the picture. Her presence brings hope into his otherwise bleak world, inspiring him to dream of leaving behind violence and chaos to start a peaceful life with her. He decides to marry Rukmini, hoping for a new beginning.
However, things don’t go as planned. A shady deal known as “Gold Fish” sparks a serious conflict between Parivel and Tilak. On the day of his wedding, emotions boil over—Parivel attacks Tilak, cutting off his hand, leading to his arrest and the cancellation of the wedding. To make matters worse, Rukmini suddenly disappears without a trace, leaving everyone in shock.
While Parivel serves his sentence in jail, Tilak and Dharma (Prakash Raj) spend five long years trying to get him to reveal the truth about the mysterious Gold Fish deal. But Parivel remains tight-lipped, refusing to say a word. Convinced that only Rukmini’s return can make him open up, Tilak and Dharma search for her relentlessly. At the same time, Parivel is equally determined to find her, desperate for answers.
Eventually, Parivel discovers that Rukmini is hiding on a remote island in the Andamans. Determined to reach her, he makes a daring deal to work as a fighter, using it as a cover to escape from prison. Once free, he abandons the fight and heads straight to the island, driven by love and the hope of reuniting with Rukmini.
But when he arrives, Parivel finds himself caught in an even deeper mystery. What’s the story behind the strange mark on his body? Why do the island’s people not know how to smile? How is Parivel connected to this mysterious land? What’s the real agenda behind the Gold Fish deal? And what roles do the powerful Raja Vel Dora (Nassar) and Michael play in this complex web?
Review:
Suriya delivers an impressive and taut performance here, a reminder of his capacity to tackle weighty performances in earnest films. A memorable piece is the mirror scene in which he rakes his mind for the conflict brewing inside—trailing impressions lasting well past the credits roll. Through most of the first half, Suriya has an effortless quality juggling emotions and action and action scenes on his end of it, utterly invested in becoming this character.
Pooja Hegde makes the most of her role, imbuing her character with grace and charm. Joju George and Jayaram leave their presence as well, walking into characters that are distinctively different from the way they’re normally presented. Young Vidhu makes a telling impression as the villain, investing his character with intensity and sincerity.
One of the strongest highlights is a one-take sequence in the first half that demonstrates his directorial skill. The first half gains good momentum, mixing love, comedy, and action while setting up an interesting conflict.
But the second half of the film fails to sustain this. Although it manages to create a gripping story initially, the progress is slow once the story becomes longer, losing audience interest at some points. Some of the scenes of Suriya still hold power standing alone, yet they do not always blend comfortably into the story as a whole. The pre-climax shock provides some interestingness, yet until then the film is lacking in energy and uneven.
The nagging problem is one of familiarity—the feeling of predictability that many scenes, as if repeating scenes from past films, engender, undermining their impact. The climax specifically is underwhelming. Villains built up over time as menacing powers are taken down too conveniently, making the ultimate showdown unconvincing and rushed.
Technically, the movie is high on production values. Santhosh Narayanan’s music score elevates pivotal scenes and raises emotional intensity. Shreyaas Krishna’s cinematography is lovely, capturing retro visual elements that go well with the tone and environment of the film. Editing should have been crisper, particularly in streamlining the second half’s pace. Telugu dubbing is taken care of well, contributing to the overall quality of the movie.
The vision of director Karthik Subbaraj is evident in the premise of the film and some of his creative decisions, but the screenplay does not live up to its potential. The first half retains his style and narrative panache, but the second half goes off course in keeping the audience hooked. The pre-climax link goes a distance, but the overall narrative never gets the emotional and dramatic oomph it wants to pack.
In the end, the film offers flashes of brilliance, anchored by Suriya’s stellar performance, but struggles with uneven pacing and a weaker second half that prevent it from being truly impactful.