Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru

Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru is the second film of H Vinoth who earlier made the widely acclaimed Sathuranga Vettai. The film is conceived as a tribute to dedicated police officers who are relentless in achieving their mission. While the first half of the film has made considerable compromises in order to make it a commercially viable product, it is the second half of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru that makes this movie an appreciable effort.

From 1995 to 2005, cases of dacoity nature were reported in Tamil Nadu. Because of the lack of evidence and lack of technical advancement, the police back in those days were struggling to find these criminals who were never there in crime records. DSP Theeran as a dedicated police officer decided to go after this case and the movie shows us the hardships he had to face over a span of several years in finding the real culprits.

The film becomes gripping when it starts to focus on its primary agenda. The entire second half of the film is built in such a way that you would root for the police officers because we are getting to see the tough conditions they had to go through. Looking at the foundation of the fury of Theeran to get these criminals, you can’t really blame Vinoth for having a love track. But the problem is with the way he has conceived that love story. The instantaneous over comical love that we have seen in many mediocre love stories gets repeated here as well. Rakul Preet’s cuteness and the chemistry this pair has on screen are the only things that are working here for the film. A “Roja” kind of buildup which shows the evolvement of a relationship post marriage would have been a better choice.

Karthi has wisely chosen a role that offers him the chance to be the commercial hero along with the scope to perform. The first half focuses on that fun side of his character and the second half depicts the determination and emotional fragility in him. Beyond the cuteness factor, Vinoth hasn’t offered anything to his female lead and thus Rakul Preet Singh isn’t making an impact. Bose Venkat and Abhimanyu Singh were also pretty good.

Barring the weakly built romance part, H Vinoth makes it more gripping when the plot shifts to the north. By giving the cops a series of hurdles in an unfamiliar territory, he makes us realize how tough this mission is and you will sense the fear and frustration among those officers. The antagonist here isn’t a mere person. The landscape, the law and order, the people and obviously the gang is against the cops and that gives depth to the fight. The action sequences are executed neatly and the cinematographer Sathyan Sooryan captures the intensity of situations effectively. Music was okay.

Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru has a very gripping second half that focuses on the determination of a bunch of police officers to fight against all the odds they had to face at a time technology wasn’t really helping the investigation process. The weak love story is the only major glitch here.

Rating: 3/5