Con City - Thieves and scorpions

The dark comedy genre has been in vogue in the Tamil industry for a while now. Producer turned first time director Harish Durairaj initiates his filmography with the crime-comedy ‘Con City’ starring Arjun Das, Anna Ben, Yogi Babu and Vadivukkarasi as a motley crew family unit of scammers. The film is a family entertainer full of twists and turns which is an enjoyable experience overall. 

The film follows Saravana (Arjun Das) and his family, who run an eatery far from Tamil Nadu. They work together with some simmering, underlying friction between them, when an unexpected event forces them to band together. The film is well written – the first half moves at pace, covering a lot of ground and plot in its first hour and a half. The script has a lot of scope for comedy and drama, which the film predominantly fulfils. The 2019 Korean film ‘Parasite’ comes to mind as a point of comparison for the explored themes and the interpersonal dynamic between the cast. The screenplay pre-interval is taut, with very few distractions or tangents. Post-interval, however, there is a small amount of drag as the crew plot a large-scale scam to escape their dire situation. As is usual, there are meta-references all throughout the film; some work while others feel heavy-handed and sloppy. The film’s best moment comes just before the interval, where a fourth wall break feels incredibly timed and well executed. 

The cast play their roles well. Arjun Das is a solid protagonist – a stoic embezzler who falls under the allure of quick money schemes. Anna Ben plays the role of a confidence trickster very well, who charms her clients with a trustworthy manner and smile. The highlight performances of the film are Yogi Babu and Vadivukkarasi, whose characters and arcs are very well written, allowing both actors to try shades and characters hitherto unseen from them; the dynamic between them works very well too. Another standout comedic performance is VTV Ganesh’s role as Arjun Das’s co-worker, a shirker who is perennially needed elsewhere.

The film is technically sound. Cinematographer Aravind Viswanathan composes visually pleasing shots and creatively uses the ‘mocobot’ style to film a few of the scam sequences. The only weakness on the technical side is the soundtrack and score by composer Sean Roldan. Despite releasing one of his best works with this year’s ‘29’, Sean Roldan serves up a subpar selection of tracks and is noticeably too present with his accompanying score throughout the film. 

Overall, ‘Con City’ is a fun film which can be enjoyed with the family. A similar recent film that comes to mind is 2024’s Dulquer Salmaan starrer ‘Lucky Bhaskar’, but ‘Con City’ is easily a far superior film in both its storytelling and craft. If you enjoyed ‘Con City’, I would recommend 2021’s crime-comedy ‘Doctor.’
 

Gopis rating: 3 stars

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Official trailer for film below.