‘Enemy’ review: A convoluted cat-and-mouse action drama

Anand Shankar’s Enemy, after an elaborate and promising start, fizzles out after its leading men, Vishal and Arya, are introduced

The first half hour of Enemy, directed by Anand Shankar, has a promising prologue. It reminded me of Ullasam as it involves two fathers and their respective schoolgoing sons.

Ramalingam (played by Thambi Ramiah) is so cautious about his son, Chozha, that he puts the coconut inside a small sackcloth bag before breaking it in a temple, lest a piece of shell pierces his son's eye. His mockers even give him the moniker 'Risk' Ramalingam. His risk-averseness is not merely a gimmick. Anand, who has also written the film, provides a solid reason for why he is the way he is.

Meanwhile, Ramalingam's newly moved in neighbour, Paari (Prakash Raj), is a retired cop who has overcome assassination attempts and suffered bullet injuries. Paari wants his son, Rajeev, to be strong, bold and brilliant and thus trains him to be a cop. The training includes solving 4 by 4 cubes, low-plank-crawls under an obstacle and other exercises. When young Rajeev complains of pain during the plank crawl, Paari adds more weight on his back. "You should learn to endure pain. Only then can you overcome your enemies," he tells his son.