Thuppakki Munai is an action thriller starring Vikram Prabhu in the lead. The film has been written and directed by Dinesh Selvaraj whose previous film, Naalu Perukku Nallathunna Ethuvum Thappila, came out in 2017.
Vikram Prabhu plays Birla Bose, an encounter specialist from Mumbai. During the first 10 minutes of the film, the hero’s backstory is told through plenty of newspaper clippings – that’s how extremely talented he is, with criminals falling prey to his gun, left, right and centre.
Another five minutes of the film is dedicated to the love story between Birla Bose and Mythili (played by Hansika). This love story could’ve been done in two minutes, but the director gives us more insights in the three extra minutes. The love story also makes it to the newspaper because our hero is famous. Duh. Also, Mythili is employed at the Prime Minister’s office, which comes in handy as the film progresses.
Because he is notorious for killing criminals, Birla Bose is suspended from the force, is back again and then finally suspended again.
Now that he’s off the task force, the government secretly uses him to rid of criminals. The story now moves to Rameswaram, where a “Bihari Maoist” is found to be guilty of raping and killing a minor girl. Birla is flown down to finish the task for the government.
What happens from there and how Birla’s perspective about killing changes forms the rest of the story.
MS Baaskar plays the father whose daughter is the victim of a brutal crime. Sure, he is an excellent actor and fits the bill perfectly as the bereaved father and the mourning husband. But it is high time directors stopped stereotyping him and casting him into these characters alone.
Thuppakki Munai also comes with a message. The director proves that he has been paying attention to the news, discussing the recent inhuman rape cases in the climax. He also raises a few important questions in the climax – by making sex work legal, can we reduce instances of rape? What needs to be done in a society that lacks severely in ethics? – but these points are served with a little too much sentiment making it sound deliberate and preachy.
The film carries certain important narratives that could’ve been told better, discussed better. Especially in the scene involving the four young boys, the director has gone overboard in portraying lust, which could’ve been avoided or done better.
In Thuppakki Munai, the director had a good opportunity to show how migrant labourers are often treated as criminals in the land that they’ve moved to. While he begins on a promising note here, the opportunity remains under-utilised with the audience not really connecting with the character.
Thuppakki Munai’s story discusses two very important issues – child rape and how migrant workers are treated in our society. The film falters when the focus shifts from one issue to the other and in the end the result remains unconvincing. There’s also the feeling that too much has been packed into one narrative.
As a thriller, Thuppakki Munai gets quite predictable. While the sound design in the film is too jarring, the songs are more pleasant. The film’s music has been done by LV Muthu Ganesh. Stunts by Anbariv have been choreographed quite well, especially the one in the climax.
Actor Vikram Prabhu looks his part as the serious cop. However, he fails in connecting with the audience. Hansika has a total screen presence of 15 minutes and very limited scope to perform. Child actor Ammu Abhirami, who was seen in Raatsasan, has done her part well. The film also stars Vela Ramamoorthy as the villain and Mirchi Sha as the “Bihari Maoist” Azad.
You might want to watch this film only if there’s a gun to your head (thuppakki munai).
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.