Test

S. Sashikanth’s Test is yet another story about a celebrity feeling the rage of a common man. It follows Arjun Venkataraman (Siddharth), a legendary Indian cricketer thrown into a crisis. The crisis is manufactured by a bitter scientist, Saravanan (R. Madhavan), who needs money to fend off loan sharks, pay for his wife’s IVF treatment and, most importantly, float a revolutionary hydro-fuel project. The twists are corny and implausible. The Netflix-thriller template flattens the initial promise. There are too many loose ends, abrupt transformations, unnecessary characters, over-the-top performances (Madhavan’s villain era — or Maddy’s baddie era — is just not it), and lazy resolutions. In short, Test is not a great film.

It’s a character’s private world, their unspoken thoughts, the bulk of what makes their personality, what gives them life. When there is interiority, you begin to understand a character—truly. Their thoughts, their motivations; you begin to get them in theory first, but slowly, you begin to sync with them. This isn’t necessarily about attachment—it’s about emotional union, even with those whose decisions you might never make or agree with. I fear Test, for all its ambition, for all its commentary on obsession, for all its felt performances, still struggles to generate this crucial interiority. Perhaps that’s why Arjun, a fading superstar cricketer played by Siddharth, feels so unchanged, so incomprehensibly still—despite the storm around him. There’s a moment where he does something unthinkable, something deeply against his grain, and yet, the moment drifts past us. We don’t sit with his internal struggle, we don’t feel the weight of it. We don’t quite see him shake under it.

S. Sashikanth, a former architect turned film producer, takes on the role of co-writer and director of Test (Netflix), a drama that unfolds against the backdrop of cricket, unrealised dreams, sacrifice, and obsessions. The resolve and ethics of three principal characters are tested to the limit in this unimaginatively directed film, co-written by Suman Kumar (The Family Man, Farzi). Test shifts from a sports drama to a thriller, verging on horror, particularly with R. Madhavan’s character’s transformation. Much of the action unfolds in the build-up to a cricket match between India and Pakistan, set in Chennai. A fading cricketer is desperate for a swansong. Little does he know that out on the pitch during this critical test match, he will face far more harrowing challenges. Arjun’s world intersects with that of Kumudha, a school teacher obsessed with motherhood, who is married to Saravanan, a struggling scientist clinging to his passion project.

One could be half an hour into the setup of Sashikanth’s Test and still be unsure of the genre of the film. When seen from the point of view of 34-year-old Kumudha (Nayanthara), Test is arguably about the testing phase leading up to her last attempt at being a mother. As for Indian team cricketer Arjun (Siddharth), who struggles with his form in what could be his final test match, the movie could be a sports drama about regaining respect from oneself. Finally, when you lean closer into Sara (Madhavan), the out-of-luck MIT scientist just one step away from changing the world, you could even look at Test as a sci-fi film about hydro-fuels. Not that this mix of genres in Test isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The film spends so much time planting us within the conflicts of each of these characters that you feel like you’re being set up for the ebbs and flows of a juicy mini-series, wherein each character is as important as the last. It’s a film that could have gone anywhere with its complexities; however, instead of going deeper into any of them, Test chooses to settle on one central plot line as it approaches the halfway mark.

Directed by co-written by S. Sashikanth, the Netflix film is about love, passion and determination. It brings together inherently different people who are fueled by different emotions. Led by R. Madhavan, Nayanthara, and Siddharth, the film follows all three as their stories entangle the most important days of their lives. Their decisions at that moment will define who they are and who they are willing to be. While the performances are good in several moments, the story does not bring a complete journey for either of the characters. The film begins with Arjun, a celebrated cricketer who is about to be kicked off the national team. But his passion for the game has him twisted enough to manipulate the team management, even if it includes the media harassing his wife and his kid. It also leads to his father’s poor health, social media trolling. Things work out for him as he is confirmed to play in the next tournament with Pakistan.

“The world doesn’t exist in binary, it’s f*****g unreasonable,” says Madhavan in one of the important scenes in ‘Test’. This statement stands as a testament to all the characters in the world of the film. In retrospect, it also defines everyone’s life. A person is not just black and white, they have all shades of grey. ‘Test’ explains this well in dealing with the lives of Arjun, Saravanan and Kumudha over two hours and 25 minutes. Kumudha (Nayanthara) is a teacher, a housewife, who supports her husband Saravanan (Madhavan). Sara, who claims to run a canteen, is also trying to get his alternate fuel technology project sanctioned by the government. Meanwhile, there’s cricketer Arjun Venkatraman (Siddharth), an out-of-form batsman, who is looking at playing the iconic India vs Pakistan test match in Chepauk, which could be his last match. There are also local people involved in match fixing based on orders from the syndicate head. The police officials are acting on a tip-off from sources about match-fixing. During the crucial match, Kumudha, Saravanan and Arjun’s lives converge, making for an intense drama about right and wrong.

Arjun, a father to a school-going son Aadi and a cricket star on the wane, grabs a spot in a crucial match against Pakistan amidst much resistance from selectors and the public. His childhood sweetheart Kumudha, who yearns to raise a child, leads a quiet life with Saravanan, an MIT product who struggles to get his career going. When his son goes missing, Arjun needs to choose between cricket and family. Siddarth, essaying a sportsman who handles edgy conflicts on and off the field, delivers a nuanced, mature performance truly indicative of his potential as a performer. Yet, time and again, you feel sad that his choices continue to fail his talents. The unusual casting choice to pair him up opposite Meera Jasmine is interesting, though the latter deserved a better-etched part.