A cricketer anxious about his poor form, a school teacher hell-bent on having a baby, and her scientist husband who is desperate to get his pet project off the ground – the Netflix movie Test takes its title very seriously. S Sashikanth’s Tamil film, co-written with Suman Kumar, piles on the woes for its lead characters and everyone else who has the misfortune of being associated with them.
Arjun (Siddharth) goes into a crucial test match between India and Pakistan in Chennai with the fear that he may never play again. His unease infects his wife Padma (Meera Jasmine) and his young son Adi – the boy with large eyes and bigger spectacles pays a heavy price for Arjun’s inability to connect bat with ball.
Kumudha (Nayanthara) and Sarvanan (R Madhavan) seem to be in a better mood than the glowering Arjun. Kumudha might be annoyed at Sarvanan’s disinterest in her maternal ambitions, and Sarvanan isn’t as concerned as he should be about mounting debt. Yet, deep love keeps them going, until it’s time to cross paths with Arjun.
The film is an exercise in ethics, examining the wisdom of the choices made by Arjun, Sarvanan and Kumudha. At least one of the three unravels in spectacular fashion, not necessarily because it’s expected but because a film that is initially a character study feels compelled to shift into semi-thriller mode.
How viewers receive this twist will depend on how invested they are in the twist taker. The film’s creators initially make considerable efforts to flesh out their leads. Arjun, Kumudha and Sarvanan are not cut-outs. Until they are forced into an ungainly triangular tango, they are people whose distinctive movements are interesting.
But we are in a film that’s closely following its title. Events need to be stretched out until the last ball is bowled. The overwritten film introduces plot turns that mirror a character’s remark that the world is incredibly unreasonable.
Test unfortunately takes this observation to heart, descending into an avoidable 145-minute heap of repetitive and overstretched storytelling during which several people get slapped about.
The good work done in the early portions – the scene-setting and character building – are useful steadying elements. Meera Jasmine ably supports the leads, shining in a scene in which Padma confronts Arjun. Siddharth’s near-robotic Arjun comes to life when the cricketer faces his worst nightmare.
The excellent chemistry between Nayanthara and R Madhavan tilts in Nayanthara’s favour as the couple face their own challenges. The effortlessly charming Madhavan comes to resemble a character he recently played in 2024. It isn’t exactly organic to Sarvanan’s arc, but it’s fun to watch.
Nayanthara is the film’s surprise element. She smoothly navigates Kumudha’s conflicts over Sarvanan’s actions, shines in the later, emotion-heavy portions and memorably carries the burden of the ordeals manufactured for Kumudha.
