‘Ira’ is a let down

This story of revenge and redemption fails to impress because of a weak script

Ira opens with the death of a controversial Minister KP Chandy (Alencier Ley Lopez), who dies following a cardiac arrest during a routine examination in a hospital. However, Dr Aryan (Gokul Suresh), the attending physician, is arrested by the police on charges of murder.

Top cop Rajeev (Unni Mukundan) heads to Kerala to investigate the case. Shifting between the present and the past, Ira unspools the life of Dr Aryan and his relationship with Chandy’s grand-daughter Jennifer (Niranjana Anoop). In the meantime, Rajeev, who is on an assignment in a tribal region, falls in love with a local woman, Karthika (Mia George).

How their lives unfold forms the crux of the story.

Despite a team of talented actors including, Alencier Ley Lopez, Shankar Ramakrishna and Lena, Ira — touted as a romantic thriller — fails to impress. The weak writing, poor characterisation and situations that defy logic turn this story into a disappointment.

Post interval, there seems to be a hurry in connecting the dots. As for humour, you get the same old jokes: a lecherous MD of a hospital demanding time and attention from his women subordinates. Another attempt at tasteless humour is when Venkidi, Rajeev’s sidekick peers at women bathing through binoculars, referring to them as pakshigal (birds).

Directed by debutant Saiju SS, Ira is a tale that’s easily forgotten. None of the characters leave a mark and neither does Naveen John’s story pull you in. Even the splendid visuals of Pooyamkutty are unable rescue this story.

Ira releases in the UAE today.