Thuppaki Munai movie review: Watchable for the novel attempt

Vikram Prabhu pulls off his author-backed character of an encounter specialist with effortless ease.

Update: 2018-12-15 12:14 GMT
A still from the film.
A still from the film.
  • whatsapp icon

Director: Dinesh Selvaraj

Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Hansika, MS Bhaskar, Mirchi Sha.

Vikram Prabhu of late opts for different genres. Thuppaki Munai, where he essays Birla Bose - a middle-aged straightforward encounter specialist - is no different. A topical issue on child abuse has been touched upon.

The film opens with a prelude narration of Birla Bose’s earlier story where he is shown as a ruthless encounter cop from Mumbai who believes that every bullet he fires already bears the name of the criminal.  He is proud of his encounter count (a little above 30), but his doctor mother who believes in saving lives is miffed with his profession and leaves him. Soon, his relationship with his girlfriend Mythili (Hansika Motwani) gets strained for the same reason. Bose too is suspended.

Cut to present, the department seeks his assistance to encounter a Maoist Azad (Mirchi Sha), a migrant worker from Bihar who has allegedly raped and killed 15-year-old Manjal Nayagi, daughter of a barber (MS Bhaskar) in Rameshwaram. Bose travels to Rameshwaram and when he is about to execute his task, the encounter is postponed for two hours. In the meantime, Bose finds out that Azad is falsely implicated in the case. The real culprit is the son (and his friends) of an affluent businessman with political connections (Vela Ramamoorthy), and the latter wants to hush-up the incident. How Bose saves the life of innocent Azad forms the rest of the thriller.

Vikram Prabhu pulls off his author-backed character of an encounter specialist with effortless ease. With his height and body gait coming to his advantage, the actor looks perfect to his part and delivers what’s expected out of him. Hansika has hardly anything to do with a limited footage. As usual MS Bhaskar steals the show and proves that he is a veteran in each and every scene. Vela Ramamoorthy, Mirchi Sha and Marimuthu are just about adequate.

No doubt, Dinesh Selvaraj has chosen a quirky plot that has all the potential to be a riveting thriller. And there’s a relevant message as well. The first half is racy and narrated in a slick manner. Post interval, the screenplay falls prey to commercial trappings, which makes it predictable. Music by LV Ganesan and LV Muthukumaraswamy is good, and a major plus is that there are no forced duets. Rasamathi’s cinematography warrants mention especially his top angle projection of picturesque Rameshwaram. On the whole, the film is an engaging thriller watchable for the novel attempt and Vikram Prabhu’s performance.

Similar News