Diary

Diary Movie Synopsis: A sub-inspector trainee sets out on a journey to track an unsolved, 16-year-old case. But little does he know that fate and destiny will put him on an exhilarating ride.

Diary Movie Review: After back-to-back thriller films, Arulnithi comes up with another supernatural thriller that's satisfying for the most part. Diary, directed by Innasi Pandiyan, revolves around the lives of many people who come together on an accidental journey. Though we are introduced to many tracks and multiple characters in the first half of the film, the writing is sensible enough to link all the layers towards the end in an effective way.

A sub-inspector trainee, Varadha (Arulnithi), gets an opportunity to choose an unsolved case as his training assignment. It is about a honeymoon couple who were brutally murdered and robbed in a hillside resort 16 years ago. He stumbles upon certain leads that take him closer to the suspects.

With the help of another sub-inspector, Pavithra (Pavithra Marimuthu), he tries to unravel the mystery revolving around the case. Incidentally, his car goes missing one night and parallely, we get introduced to the lives of many who board the last bus from Ooty to Coimbatore.

What is common between Varadha's case and the passengers in the bus. How are they linked?

Diary starts off as an investigative piece and ends bringing destiny, emotional loss and supernatural elements together, leaving us with an engrossing film. The idea is interesting and the effort towards good writing is evident. If the director had avoided certain jump scares and gimmicks for the sake of making the film more commercial, Diary would have been an even better thriller.

The emotional quotient in the climax sequence works and answers all our questions with clarity. Arulnithi does a convincing job, just like he did with every other cop role he has starred in. Pavithra Marimuthu, who appears as Arulnithi's colleague and life partner, has done a wonderful job. Nothing about her performance looks artificial and that's one of the satisfying aspects of the film. Ranjana Nachiyaar, Kishore Kumar and Jayaprakash also do a decent job.

A few comical characters in the film are unwanted and they really test our patience. The film could have been a disaster if the director had failed to connect all the knots towards the end, but he doesn't. And this makes us overlook all the flaws in the first half. Compared to Arulnithi's last two thrillers, this is like a redemption for him as he resurrects himself with a decent story.

The cinematography and background score really help the makers to create that gripping feel they are after. Diary is an interesting read with engaging chapters, though there are a few pages that could be easily skipped.