What’s it about?
A baby boy is abandoned at a temple. Sandhya (Swasika) finds him and adopts him, much against the wishes of her husband Tilakan (Joju George), a gangster. They name him Paarivelan Kannan (Suriya). But Paari has a strange condition: he cannot laugh. By the time he reaches his teens, Sandhya passes away, leaving him in the care of Tilakan, who only begins to accept him after Paari saves him from an attack.
Years later, Paari meets Rukmini (Pooja Hegde), whom he had first encountered as a child in Benaras, and they get married. But on their wedding day, an incident triggers a rift between Paari and his adoptive father.
When Rukmini sees Paari resorting to violence, breaking the promise he made to her, she leaves him. He ends up in prison. The rest of the drama revolves around his search for her and his journey toward redemption.
Analysis
“Retro,” directed by Karthik Subbaraj, unfolds in the filmmaker’s signature style, with the story divided into chapters: Love, Laugh, War, and The One. Karthik Subbaraj is known for films like Pizza, Petta, and Jigarthanda DoubleX. In “Retro”, he struggles to present his ideas in a convincing and coherent manner. We don’t learn why the protagonist bears a trident mark on his body or why he’s unable to laugh until the final chapter, The One.
Until then, the film meanders, dragging on with little emotional pull, often slipping into boredom.
With a runtime of nearly two hours and forty minutes, “Retro” feels overly long. The love story between Suriya and Pooja Hegde begins with promise, but once the breakup happens and the narrative shifts to his attempts at reconnecting with her, it becomes a tedious watch. Much of the story lacks clarity and cohesion.
The film starts strong with its flashback sequences set in the 1960s and later focuses on the romance and marriage of Suriya and Pooja Hegde (15-minute single shot). However, things quickly unravel. Despite problems like the forced comedy involving Jayaram and other jarring elements, the first half still feels passable. The second half, however, drags considerably and makes little sense until the flashback is revealed. The backstory talking about king and his son who rule an island and kill newborns in a parallel to Lord Krishna and Kansa feels far-fetched and unreal.
The sequences between Vidu (Nasser’s son) and Suriya are superficial and add little to the plot.
Suriya shoulders the film with a committed performance. He’s in fine form and shares excellent screen chemistry with Pooja Hegde, who looks elegant in her simple sarees and gives a sincere performance. Suriya does his best to compensate for the lack of a gripping narrative. The rest of the cast, however, falters—Joju George, Prakash Raj, and Nasser are all wasted in poorly written, almost silly roles.
Santhosh Narayanan’s background score and experimental sound design are among the few highlights. Of the songs, Ilaiyaraaja’s old hit “Senorita I Love You” stands out more than Santhosh Narayanan’s original compositions.
In the end, Karthik Subbaraj’s vision may be grand, but his screenplay lacks the coherence and emotional depth needed to make it work.
Bottom line: “Retro” falters big time. The story and narration meander aimlessly, offering nothing. While a few moments make some sense, much of the film comes across as an incoherent mess. Suriya is the saving grace.
Rating: 1.75/5
By Jalapathy Gudelli
Movie: Retro
Cast: Suriya, Pooja Hegde, Jayaram, Joju George, Nasser, Prakash Raj, Swasika, Shriya Saran, and others
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
DOP: Shreyaas Krishna
Editor: Shafique Mohamed Ali
Producers: Kaarthekeyen Santhanam, Jyothika, Suriya
Written and directed by: Mohanakrishna Indraganti
Release Date: May 1, 2025
