Writer: Ramesh

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Watch this if you liked: “Goa” and “Saroja”

With his usual gang of boys and the curiosities that was created by the trailer, director Venkat Prabhu almost succeeds in his latest offering with his first ever film with big stars like Ajith Kumar and Arjun in "Mankatha".

The film portrays the illegal gambling that takes place during a cricket game season of the Indian Premier League and how 4 individuals namely Sumanth (Vaibhav), Ganesh (Ganesh), Mahat (Mahat) and Prem (Premji) hatches a plan to loot the gambling money. Everything is perfect until Vinayak (Ajith Kumar), a police officer who is under suspension, enters into the equation and change their plan by joining them. Meanwhile there is the special squad team lead by Prithviraj (Arjun) who is tracking the gambling syndicate. Who will win the cat and mouse game forms the rest of the story.

Ajith's negative role is a treat to watch from his usual heroism and is in full control of screen domination. There isn't much chemistry with Trisha to boost about, as Trisha's screen space and role are minimal. 'Action King' Arjun portrayed as action hero is portrayed perfectly as fit of his title. Other cast like Vaibhav, Jayaprakash and Lakshmi Rai supported their respective characters equally well. Premji as the IT hacker provides some funny moments of dialogue which is a scene-stealer.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's music score add variety and makes it a point of using the 'Theme Music' as much as he can to set the mood of the story. The first half takes time to establish all characters and their routine romance while the second half of the film adds thrills and twists towards the end.

The film's lengthy duration could have been reduced a little by removing some unwanted songs in the first half, but still Venkat Prabhu succeeds for keeping the audiences guessing all the way towards the end.

Overall "Mankatha" is worth a watch for all its entertaining elements and never miss it especially if you are a Ajith Kumar fan.

Cinema Online, 02 September 2011