Kathai, as the title suggests, is a film which tries to explore the mysterious psyche of a Booker prize winning writer, who creates his writings beautifully with an incredible realistic essence. What goes on in his creative mind and gives his stories substance to weave into life, characters, their emotions, actions and reactions, is revealed in the storyline.
The Characters
Naren (Shaankumar) is an award winning writer, known for his realistic writings with the depiction of real emotions. Naren fall in love with violinist Kavya (Nivedhitha). They both decide to get married. But only after their marriage does Kavya realize the dark reality that fuel Naren's writings.
The Plot
Author Naren falls in love with Kavya, a violinist and they marry. A few days after marriage, Kavya discovers the events that happened before and after her marriage when she reads a book by Naren. She then realizes that she has been used as an experiment by Naren to create his book. But Naren convinces Kavya to stay back by gifting her a luxurious bungalow.
Months later, Kavya becomes pregnant but unfortunately, she falls from a staircase and suffers a miscarriage. Kavya get emotionally disturbed when she finds that Naren has again depicted her emotions in his next book 'The Lost Child' and wins the Booker prize for this novel. But Kavya is still disturbed and the couple decides to go to US for a break. There Kavya meets Anand (Abinay) her old friend. Kavya reveals all to Abinay and explains the situation, but Abinay tries to misbehave with her and she resists. Unfortunately, Naren watches them, but shockingly, Kavya finds out that this was Naren's plan to check her emotions, as his next book deals with extramarital affairs. What happens next is the rest of the story?
Performance
D閎utant Shaankumar and actress Nivedhitha have done their jobs well. Cinematography seems to be the only highlight of the movie. Editing could have been better, since there are many jerks on screen and continuity is missing in many scenes. Certain songs and glamour factor could have been avoided to increase the pace of the film. The climax is too long, which creates a kind of boredom.
Verdict
On the whole, director Abishek has made an attempt to introduce a fresh concept. Kathai has an average first half and a dragging second half.