CoCo Review: Interesting story, but dragged too much

The film begins with the manager of a company trying to convince an innocent girl, Kokila (Nayanthara), to fulfill his sexual desire, promising her a raise in return. 

Though his statement leaves her in shock, her response to it defines the characterisation of Kokila for the rest of the film. The 23-year-old, who hails from a lower-middle class family, quits the company and later finds a job as a manager in a massage parlour. Her dad (RS Sivaji) is a security guard at an ATM, who considers himself inferior to his family members. 

While her mother (Saranya Ponvannan) comes across as a practical housewife, her sister Shobi (Jacqueline) is a bold, young college-goer. Nelson takes his own time to establish all these characters in the first half, which indeed reduces the pace of the film. 

However, Yogi Babu’s character — that of a store owner, who is desperate to marry Kokila — comes as a great relief. The timing of his humour works in parts and in fact, leaves the audience wanting to see more of him than the other characters.   

The film transports us to another genre after we learn that Saranya Ponvannan is affected with lung cancer and it would take Rs. 15 lakh to save her life.  That’s when Kokila decides to get into the illegal trading of cocaine, after an initial encounter with a city drug peddler.  

The innocence that her face inherently portrays, brings her lots of opportunities to earn the amount required for her mother’s treatment. The second half of the film, however, is about how this drug business invites trouble for her family and how she escapes from the radar of a drug kingpin in Mumbai, thanks to her wit.       

It’s evident the film completely banks on Nayanthara’s stardom and the dark humour which Nelson tries to play with. Her role as a drug peddler has given her the scope to perform and buys her some love from the audience. However, scenes like her having an emotional conversation with her dad and an encounter with a three-year-old also suffering from cancer, accompanied by Anirudh’s background score, resemble the tone of a Vignesh Shivn film. 

Cinematographer Sivakumar Vijayan has set in a perfect tone for the film, keeping the audience engrossed without leaving a chance for any distraction. Don’t be surprised if certain characters like Jacqueline’s boyfriend don’t gel with the mood of the film since their acting and role were quite artificial. You might agree with us and hence the film is only a one-time watch.