Sorgavaasal review: RJ Balaji’s prison drama falls short of brilliance

Over the years, actor-director RJ Balaji established himself as a creator with a defined vision. As an actor, he explores different genres, and despite his limitations, Balaji pushes the boundaries with the scripts he chooses. Director Sidharth Vishwanath’s Sorgavaasal is one such film that highlights the 1999 riots and presents a gripping prison-break drama.
Parthiban (RJ Balaji), hailing from a lower-economic background, runs a food cart. Shanmugam (Param), an IAS officer who frequents Parthiban’s food cart, helps him secure a loan to open a hotel in his locality. However, Shanmugam’s untimely death and circumstantial evidence send Parthiban to jail.
In the prison, there’s Kattabomman (Karunas), a jailer trying to climb the ranks through hard work. There’s Siga aka Sigamani (Selvaraghavan), a notorious rowdy who has the prison under his control. Then, there’s SP Sunil Kumar (Sharaf U Dheen), who doesn’t follow the rules. These three characters, along with Parthiban, find themselves trapped in a web of desire, greed, jealousy, and ego.
Director Sidharth Vishwanath’s Sorgavaasal is an intense drama with multiple sub-plots. The film starts off on a strong note and is told through the perspectives of Parthiban, his mother, fiancé and Kattabomman, all retelling their accounts to Ismail (Natarajan Subramanian), the investigation officer on the case.
Here’s the trailer:

Sorgavaasal makes you invested in its story right from the word go. It introduces us to the reasons behind Siga’s (Selvaraghavan) rise to power and why he commands respect and fear in the prison. As the story progresses, we delve into the lives of Parthiban, Kattabomman and Sunil Kumar. It also shows that being true to oneself and focusing on your job will not benefit you in a corrupt system fuelled by ego, power struggle and jealousy.
Some of the dialogues in Sorgavaasal are written with utmost conviction. The scene where Anthonythasan Jesuthan’s Seelan says that we don’t need God to become a good person struck me the most. Many characters in Sorgavaasal often sprinkle such philosophies. While some resonate deeply, others get lost in the larger scheme of things.
RJ Balaji, in his initial portions, proves that he has improved as an actor. However, in emotional sequences, his performances stick out like a sore thumb. Selvaraghavan’s portrayal of Siga is introduced as that of a dreaded gangster, but his performance does not match the aura created for his character. Natarajan Subramanian plays the investigation officer with acidity issues, but it’s unclear why this detail is included or what it adds to the story.
Sorgavaasal builds the story by showing characters with their flaws, emphasising that everyone has shades of grey. It also shows how a corrupt system uses people as pawns and how everyone is easily replaceable. While the story gradually builds up, the payoff in the second half felt underwhelming. The big reveal felt rushed.
Apart from the screenplay, it is the performances of Karunas, Hakkim Shah, Balaji Shakthivel and Samuel Robinson that stole the show.
Sorgavaasal feels like a blend of Virumaandi and Vada Chennai. But, it fails to achieve the magic that both of the films did. Nevertheless, the film is a decent attempt to showcase the 1999 riots that killed many prisoners and police officers.