Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay & Direction
Technical Aspects & BGM
A Pleasing Debut!
Director Caarthick Raju has an uncanny sense of handling humor and it’s very evident in his debut film Thirudan Police, which masquerades as a comedy-thriller but is actually a hard-hitting tale on how the lower-rung officers in the police department are treated and taken for granted.
Cast: Attakathi Dinesh, Iyshwarya Rajesh, Bala Saravanan, Nitin Sathya, John Vijay, Rajendran, Aadukalam Naren, Vijay Sethupathi (Special Appearance) & others
Cinematography: Siddharth
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Editing: Praveen KL
PRO: Suresh Chandra
Written & Directed by: Caarthick Raju
Producers: SPB Charan & J Selvakumar
Banner: Capital Film Works & Kenanya Films
Release Date: 14-11-2014
Run Time: 02:17:00
Director Caarthick Raju has an uncanny sense of handling humor and it’s very evident in his debut film Thirudan Police, which masquerades as a comedy-thriller but is actually a hard-hitting tale on how the lower-rung officers in the police department are treated and taken for granted. Precisely, how a constable is addressed in the higher echelons of the department is told in a light-hearted narrative to make you not frown and to prevent you from labeling this film as a message flick.
Thirudan Police, on the outset, is the relationship between a father (Rajesh) and his son (Attakathi Dinesh). The middle class household, their hardships to make ends meet, a doting mother pampering his son, a martinet-like father form Dinesh’s family. His father wishes to see him get salutes from other higher officers since his life has been spent saluting others in the department. Meanwhile, Dinesh is a hot-tempered, happy-go-lucky, unemployed bachelor who picks fights with his neighbor, played by Nitin Sathya, son of an Assistant Commissioner (played by Muthuraman), for petty reasons. In an unfortunate police encounter, Rajesh loses his life on-duty and Dinesh is offered a job to join the department as a constable by the Commissioner, played by Aadukalam Naren who delivers a beautiful performance as an honest, forthright police officer.
In fact, Thirudan Police has two narratives packed into one. It’s a revenge drama – Dinesh’s one-man hunt to find his father’s murderers and his realization about his relationship with his father, which happens only posthumously. And, both the stories weave seamlessly into the narrative except for the momentum-cursing romance track between Iyshwarya and Dinesh. Caarthick Raju carefully treads the line between being melodramatic and staging schmaltzy emotions on screen. Interestingly, the gags in the film are mostly offered by the villains, played by the hilariously enjoyable John Vijay and Naan Kadavul Rajendran, than the comedian Bala Saravanan, who plays Dinesh’s friend.
The last twenty minutes in the second half deliver rollicking fun courtesy Rajendran and John Vijay. The latter’s Chennai slang will leave you in splits. The revenge part in the film is handled wonderfully by Caarthick Raju. Thirudan Police deals the done-and-dusted revenge drama in a novel, refreshing way and puts a smile on your face at the end. And fittingly, Caarthick Raju gives this film as a tribute to all the fathers in his end card. Vijay Sethupathi’s cameo for a folk song will delight the audiences. Attakthi Dinesh once proves his acting prowess in a simple role as a police constable.
Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background score has propelled the first half and Praveen KL’s editing is a huge strength, though he could have used the scissors more effectively to get rid of the needless romance track.