The Tamil play Kaanal Neero's gripping storyline makes it worth watching

The Hindu

16-05-2025

For a suspense story to work, nothing should be obvious. It is the ambiguity that sustains interest in such stories. Dummies Drama's Kaanal Neero (story and dialogues by Sridhar Ramaswamy and direction by V. Sreevathson) is one such story, where you are left wondering not who the murderer is, but whether the murder took place or not.
Shiva is a rich estate owner. His wife Kayal is an attention seeker, and torments Shiva. One day the quarrel between them takes a serious turn, and she tries to slash her wrist. Shiva wrenches the knife from her hands and pushes her down. She suffers an injury and dies. Moving the stage LED display (LED support - TN Now), to show Shiva dragging Kayal's body out of the house and burying it, was a very clever way of portraying the scene. You see Shiva (Sridhar Ramaswamy) murdering his wife and burying her. But subsequent events leave you wondering whether Kayal is actually dead. Shiva gets phone calls from unknown numbers and when he answers the phone, it is Kayal at the other end, asking him why he has abandoned her. Should you believe the evidence of your eyes? Or should you not? You keep asking yourself this, throughout.
Shiva goes to pieces, and finally confesses to the crime and tells the police where he buried the body. But when the police dig up the spot, there is no corpse in the pit. The way the plot was handled and the performance of the actors kept the story gripping till the end. V. Sridhar as lawyer Sviggy, Sridhar Ramaswamy as Shiva and Satish as Kadir were particularly good in their roles.
The conclusion, however, was unconvincing and left one with many questions. There were some logical loopholes too in the play. However, to raise these questions in this review would act as a spoiler. Suffice it to say that the play was on the whole entertaining, and with a willing suspension of disbelief, you might be able to overlook the far-fetched conclusion.