The mysterious death of a cop becomes complex as investigation progresses because of fabricated evidence and indirect involvement of a few other cops in the case. This is the storyline of the Tamil-language thriller film, Lock Up, written and directed by SG Charles.
The movie is the directorial debut of Charles and is produced by Nithin Sathya. The film stars Vaibhav, Vani Bhojan, Eeswari Rao and Venkat Prabhu in prominent roles. It was released on 14 August on ZEE5 Movies.
Lock Up follows the lives of sub-inspector Moorthy and Constable Vasanth who are suspected to be involved in the death of Inspector Sampath. The plot also has Ilavarasi, a hard-nosed police inspector, who is put in charge of the police station; these two police officers are stationed.
In this #SuspenseAtEvery Turn thrilling whodunit, debutant SG Charles’ doesn’t take time to establish the set up and characters as it takes off from the word go.
The film begins with Inspector Ilavarasi, played by Easwari Rao, being informed about the murder of another police Inspector, Sampath, whose role is essayed by Mime Gopi in his posh bungalow.
The investigation begins with a local goon, confessing to have killed the cop. He surrenders himself to Moorthy (played by Venkat Prabhu) being the first person to go to the murder site, and tells the cops how he committed the act.
However, Ilavarasi suspects several discrepancies in the suspect’s statement and starts collecting further related evidence with the help of Moorthy.
Meanwhile, Vasanth (Vaibhav), a subordinate to Moorthy, who is assigned the suicide case of a house maid and is investigating it separately, feels that her death is somehow related to the death of the murdered cop. The death of the goon who surrendered to police and an unexpected revelation makes the premise even more complex.
In such a complex plot, there were chances of narration going haywire, given the potpourri of characters and contradicting scenarios in the plot. However, the Director keeps the viewers engaged with the lack of evident loopholes and engaging non-linear narration with twists at regular intervals.
Another interesting feeling of this movie is that a few characters that appear to be weak or underwritten in the beginning become crucial in the latter half, thanks to the convincing character arc.
The story line does not unnecessarily deviate from the main plot and the way unsolved sub-plots are connected in the latter half which makes it another positive factor to make it a must-watch.
Eeswari Rao does her part very well, taking the story forward for a good amount of time in the beginning. Venkat Prabhu plays the character which has an intriguing shade to it and which keeps the audience guessing till the end.
Vaibhav and Poorna put up a decent performance though unfortunately Vaani Bhojan doesn’t have a major role to play.
The behind-the-scenes part is also handled well with cinematography by Santhanam Sekhar, editing by Anand Geraldin and music by Arrol Correli stand out in several sequences in the movie.
Lock Up has an engaging non-linear narration with twists at regular intervals making it an interesting watch, a thrilling whodunit.