Theerpugal Virkapadum movie review: Sathyaraj is the saving grace of this watchable revenge thriller

3/5

Story: A man who seems to be in his early 60s kidnaps the son of an influential businessman and threatens to kill the youngster if he fails to perform certain tasks assigned to him. Later, the distressed father gets to know who is behind his son's kidnap. He, along with his nephew, decide to take on the sexagenarian after realizing why he is after them.

Review: A doting father who takes revenge on a few criminals who attacked his daughter - there are countless number of films which have been made with this plot - Chithirai Sevvaanam, which released earlier this month, too, revolved around the same story. 

Dheeran's Theerpugal Virkapadum, starring Sathyaraj in the lead, shares another similarity with the Samuthirakani-starrer with regard to the daughter's character. But what is more relevant here is the slew of Tamil movies which are made with beaten-to-death storylines. Having said that, Theerpugal Virkapadum, like Chithirai Sevvaanam, has some interesting sequences which make the audience hooked to it. But is that enough?    

Rudhravel (Madhusudhanan), a crooked businessman, receives a call from his 20-something son who has gone out to celebrate his birthday. Though the doting father wishes him a happy birthday, he shockingly realizes that it is not his son on the other end of the call. 

Rudhra's son is in the custody of an unknown person. He threatens to kill the youngster if the former fails to carry out a few tasks assigned to him. But little did Rudhra know that he will have the worst day in his life. Later, after further enquiries, Rudhravel learns that it is Dr Nalan Kumar (Sathyaraj) who has made his life miserable.

But there is little which he could do as Nalan keeps assigning more and more difficult tasks to him which he couldn't refuse. He, along with his nephew, decide to take on Nalan after a point when they realize that the doctor is taking advantage of the situation. But Nalan, who has little to lose, is clear about his motives. 

As a father who is yet to come to terms with the fact that his daughter Bharathi (Smruthi Venkat) has been raped by a few youngsters, Nalan thinks an eye for an eye would give him temporary solace. Will he be able to forgive Rudhravel's son for raping his daughter? 

Despite being a done-to-death story, what makes Theerpugal Virkapadum a watchable flick is the thoroughly entertaining performance of Sathyaraj. The veteran actor carries the movie solely on his shoulders and pulls off diverse emotions like anger, love, frustration, disappointment effortlessly. His sarcastic one-liners and signature expressions leave the viewers captivated for most of the time.

Madhusudhanan as the cruel, but level-headed antagonist, too, shines in his role as a helpless father and complement Sathyaraj's performance. The writing is clever in parts and the cat-and-mouse game, though predictable, isn't boring. Harish Uthaman as Madhusudhan's aide and nephew is impressive as the short-tempered baddie despite his character not being flushed out properly.

Smruthi Venkat as the caring daughter is apt for her role though her character is underwritten. The technical aspects are okayish; the cinematography by Anji is neat whereas Prasad's songs are passable and do not add any value to the storytelling. A striking positive aspect of the film is that the screenplay doesn't resort to annoying melodrama in spite of having ample scope for it.

The revenge angle of father, though not a new idea, is decently presented by depending on the performances of three seasoned actors. However, the whole scheme of things become repetitive after a point and the predictable nature towards the climax mars the film's scope to become a well-made thriller. The evident logical loopholes and larger-than-life characterization which is attached to the protagonist in a few scenes, too, leave us a little disappointed. 

Verdict: Despite a few flaws including the lack of novelty in story, the film is a watchable fare because of some neatly executed suspense-laden sequences.