The Verdict out on OTT: Sruthi Hariharan’s return to Tamil cinema is now available to stream

The week before actor Kamal Haasan’s much-awaited Mani Ratnam directorial Thug Life hit theatres saw the release of a few small-time Tamil films, including The Verdict, which, interestingly, starred Suhasini Maniratnam in a pivotal role. The film, which was entirely shot in the US, had a low-key theatrical outing on May 30 and did not create much buzz. The reviews too were mixed, with the performances being lauded, while the narrative suffered.

The Verdict streaming now on Sun NXT

The Verdict, however, is among the few lucky films to have a quick turnaround to OTT and has made its way to Sun NXT within a month of its theatrical outing. Starring Sruthi Hariharan in the lead, along with Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Vidyullekha Raman and producer-actor Prakash Mohandas, the film, despite the title, is not a full-fledged courtroom drama and also ventures into the revenge thriller space.

In a conversation prior to the film’s release, Sruthi had told OTTplay that her character being at the heart of the tale is what she found intriguing, besides the fact that there’s more than meets the eye to the narrative. In the film, Sruthi plays Namrutha, who is accused of murdering her friend, Elisa (Suhasini), after the latter included her in her will as beneficiary to a sizeable fortune. Varalaxmi played her lawyer, Maya, tasked with acquitting Namrutha, which may not be easy, given the finger of suspicion pointing towards her.

Also read: Sruthi Hariharan on The Verdict: The courtroom angle is only one aspect of the film; there’s also… 

Whether or not Namrutha actually carried out a well-planned murder, or was framed in the death of her friend is for audiences to figure out while watching the film. The Verdict was Sruthi’s first Tamil film release after 8 years, a prospect she was quite excited about. In Kannada, the actress was last seen in Head Bush, the MP Jayaraj biopic led by Daali Dhananjaya. She has a few films lined up for release.