Director: Dinesh Selvaraj
Cast: Vikram Prabhu, MS Bhaskar, Hansika Motwani
“I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be in control of it.”- Clint Eastwood
Thuppakki Munai, directed by Dinesh Selvaraj stars Vikram Prabhu as Birla Bose, an encounter specialist. This is certainly Vikram Prabhu’s comfort zone and you would expect him to relish such a role. Shot predominantly in Rameshwaram, the film has an interesting premise and bagfuls of potential.
Birla Bose is a dreaded encounter specialist from Mumbai whose approach to police work ensures he is often mixed up with controversies and suspensions. Being recalled from one such suspension, he is handed an assignment in Rameshwaram to investigate a rape and murder case where a man with alleged Maoist links named Azad has already been arrested. Bose however stumbles upon some early clues during his sleuth work that point the whole case in a different direction.Though he seems to be preparing a signature encounter operation to deal with Azad too, he is unconvinced by the arrest and determined to learn the full story. Is Azad’s arrest justified or is there a dirty secret being carefully protected by various power centers in the city for which Azad is being used as a sacrificial lamb? The rest of the film plays out to answer these questions and more.
One of the major high points of the film is the cinematography. Rasamathi’s frames capture Rameshwaram at it’s magnificent best and the visuals are just stunning.The casting is also spot on, with MS Bhaskar especially stealing the show in an extended role. There are thankfully no romantic duets and Hansika (as Mythili) plays her part well with the limited scope it offers. The film however drags a bit with some unwanted melodrama in the first half. Touted as an action thriller, you would expect a pacier screenplay that keeps you at the edge of your seat from the word go. A montage song between MS Bhaskar and his daughter doesn’t help the cause either. Having said that, the film does have it’s share of interesting moments too. The scene at the start where a rogue brandishes a knife on Mythili in front of her father, when he is just advising Bose to quit the police force and take up a safer trade is cheeky and packs a punch. The best sequence is however reserved for the second half and it involves the delightful character of a councillor (who is proud to have won his seat by just one vote!) and his son who go out of their way to help Bose when he finds himself in a stitch. The director’s attention to detail is also to be lauded- for instance, there is a reference by a witness early on in the investigation about the events unfolding on a full moon night and the director ensures we do see a glorious full moon when he plays out the scenes of the crime to the audience finally.
The film is ultimately well intentioned and has a strong enough message. What hurts this a bit, apart from the slow pace of the film initially, is also the lack of complexity or novelty in the plot. The premise was a really promising one and the scope it offered could have been written into a much more elaborate story to keep the audience guessing. There are also some logical questions you tend to ask- would a senior specialist from Mumbai like Bose not have enough police backup at his disposal, especially given the high reaching contacts he seems to have in the Government? If you choose to ignore these points, the film is a decent watch, especially for the entertaining and much racier second half.
Overall rating: 3/5
