'FIR' Movie Review

Introduction

'FIR' is a thriller movie that uses terrorism as its setting to demonstrate how unfair it is to hold an entire community responsible for the heinous crimes perpetrated by some of its members. The plot focuses on an innocent man, Irfan Ahmed, who gets stuck in unidentified happenings that change his life and the lives of those around him. The movie further demonstrates the series of incidents that destroy Irfan's life and the media's abrupt portrayal of him as the embodiment of evil.

'FIR' Movie Cast & Crew

The Story was written by Manu Anand, who also served as director. The major lead actors were Vishnu Vishal, Reba Monica John, and Gautham Vasudev Menon. Priya T. Manjima Raiza Wilson and Mohan Gaurav Narayana both had supporting parts. Under the banner of VV Studioz, this movie is produced by Shubhra, Vishnu Vishal, and Aryan Ramesh. While Arul Vincent handled the cinematography, Prasanna GK handled the editing.

Plot

The movie starts with introducing a character, Irfan Ahmed (Vishnu Vishal), a young Muslim man who lives with his mother, has completed chemical engineering, and struggling to find the work that he wants because of the ways society treats Muslims. Frustrated by religious questions in interviews, Irfan joined the work of a chemical manufacturer in a perfume company under Perumal and his son Karthikeyan. He ended up in a relationship with his Brahmin college friend Archana (Reba Monica John) and became close with a lawyer named Prarthana (Manjima Mohan).

In the second narrative of the story, an investigation team is searching for a terrorist named Abubakar Abdullah, who is allegedly planning a major terrorist attack in India and Colombo. The agency's head, Gautham Menon, collaborates closely with a team to apprehend Abubakar Abdullah before the bomb blast. Besides this, Irfan has been sent by his company to Hyderabad to buy some chemicals. On his way, Irfan misplaces his mobile traveling from Hyderabad to his home. He was upset that he would miss his flight to Chennai and accidentally warned the airport staff of a bomb in Hyderabad, which resulted in his imprisonment.

He was later released and went to Chennai. Many people were killed later when a bomb detonated at the same airport. Irfan is detained once more after his phone is discovered near the bomb blast site the following day. Ajay Dewan, an advisor to the NIA, orders his arrest. Prathana resolves to stand up for Irfan and brings his mother, Praveena Begum, to visit him. They are, however, not allowed to see Irfan. Praveena, an asthmatic patient, suffers an attack and passes out because of the embarrassment brought by the public. Then Irfan is given permission to see his mother in the hospital but is horrified to learn that Praveena Begum has passed away and left the hospital. There, he is approached by Dr. Zazi's son Riyaz, who inspired Irfan to make sarin gas to carry out a terrorist strike.

In the climax scene, it is revealed that Karthikeyan is real Abu Bakr Abdullah. Then Abu Bakr ordered his assistant to kill Irfan because his purpose had been met. But Irfan fights back by revealing that he is actually a secret NIA agent who has been waiting for years to bring Abu Bakr out of disguise and kill both Abu Bakr and that assistant. Ultimately, a missile destroys the factory, including Irfan, though Ajay Dewan managed to save common people from the chemical attack. Ajay Dewan orchestrates the entire operation and is disclosed to some people. He recruited an officer with a background in chemical engineering and renamed him Irfan Ahmed, eliminating his prior history. We get relief when it is revealed that Irfan fled from the factory during the missile explosion and is now on a new mission, with his identity named Faizal Ibrahim Raiz (FIR).

Review

In the first half of this gripping, action-packed thriller, director Manu Anand deftly switches between scenes from Irfan's background and the NIA's interrogation. The plot is a major selling point for the movie. Vishnu Vishal is excellent in his character, particularly in emotional sequences. Gautham Vasudev Menon was born to play this character; as an NIA officer, he gives his all. Manjima Mohan does a good job as an advocate. Raiza Wilson and Reba Monica John perform admirably.

The director strategically incorporates actual-life terror assaults, particularly the Easter Sunday Colombo bombs, to make his story feel genuine. The way in which Irfan becomes a target is also effectively portrayed; one can observe how categorization serves a significant part in this procedure. This movie talks about the prejudice that members of the community experience, particularly considering terrorism. Adding more, FIR did challenge several prejudices; Irfan is portrayed to us in the story through a song, demonstrating that his existence is beyond his religious identity. Portraying Irfan, Vishnu Vishal has given one of his greatest performances to date.

He is very effective when doing the stunts at the climax and when delivering the purpose of the movie at the end. Vishnu Vishal keeps supporting and choosing projects that force him to step outside of his zone of comfort. With 'FIR,' he overcomes limits as a performer and producer after becoming a great success with the psycho-killer movie 'Ratsasan.' He has lots of opportunities to showcase his acting skills in the movie. The actor gives a very real performance as a man who is driven to establish both his innocence and his loyalty to his nation.

'FIR' is a terrific movie by a first-time writer-director Manu Anand. Even with a number of important characters, it manages to keep the screenplay effective and continually riveting. 'FIR' is refreshingly unusual because it is not hero-centric like most Tamil films are. It's among those movies where every character is crucial and explains each scene beautifully. Manu Anand has a profound insight into the way the Indian National Investigation Agency work. Another crucial element of the movie is the terrorist angle, which is rarely covered in Tamil cinema.

'FIR' is one of the finest commercial movies in this genre since it did it deftly and without exaggerating the plot. In addition, Manjima and Gautham Vasudev Menon's genuine performances strengthened the movie. On the other hand, Manu has handled the story in this movie so perfectly that he serves as the introductory director. The movie discusses extremism and how it is used to manipulate defenseless Islamists. It is admirable that the director handled the contentious story of the nation so deftly that it does not involve any issues.

Box Office Review

F.I.R., directed by Manu Anand, was released in theatres on February 11(2022) and occupied many screens. According to the most recent box office data for 'F.I.R' had grossed more than its budget in less than a week. The movie has also received positive reviews, and the positive WOM (word of mouth) has transformed the film into a box office hit. 'F.I.R.' is said to have made more than Rs 8 crore at the Tamil Nadu box office, which is more than the movie's budget. Meanwhile, the total collection of this movie, including the Tamil and Telugu versions, is estimated to be about Rs 12 crores.

Public Review

BEHINDWOODS REVIEW BOARD RATING: (2.75 / 5.0)

IMDb RATING: 6.9/10

123telugu.com Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

Overall, the 'FIR' movie is well-made and features great writing in terms of music and editing. Although nothing exceptional, the aesthetics could have been a little bit better. The few parts that lessen the movie's tension should have been handled more seriously to produce much better work. However, that does not imply that 'FIR' is not active. It had the potential to be an incredible movie, but instead ended up opting for the "good movie" label.