8 Thottakkal

These days I'm comfortable with B movies in Kollywood than its other end. Creative and fresh subjects are the reasons they are succeeding. For the past couple of years I have been watching some awesome B movies and this is one of those. It was not quite great, because of borrowing some of the usual Tamil film formulas. Like the songs which were totally unblendable with the story narration. And then the love story, which is a must in Tamil films, particularly to add romance tracks which again takes us to the point one.

Apart from those small flaws, I liked the film. Those second string and supporting actors had their dream roles. To identify their performance, they never had such focused character in their career. I'm taking about particularly MS Bhaskar. He might have played a negative role, but it is his career best performance. I've seen him in the hundreds of blockbusters, but never like this. Then the new faces, they were not bad. But in some places, it is easy to recognise their inexperience, especially while delivering the lines and expressions. While watching the film, you should stop counting the bullets as I did, because that's not how it goes. It has a different explanation for the title.

The film was about an orphan boy who was wrongly accused of a crime and then after he grew up, he became a police officer. I didn't know, a crime offender can become a police. Anyway, he's so innocent for the job. Meets a girl and while his life was going smoothly, he becomes terrified when he loses the department gun. Following the event, he closely investigates the bank robbery which could be linked to his lost gun. So if that's true, who's behind it and how to come out of the situation comes next.

Very nice storyline, but it should have been 90 minute film. An additional hour was a drag. At least how it looked when the first stage of the development came to cease. In the second half, the focus shifted to the film's negative role. All his history was briefed for our understanding. I thought that parts were intentional and leans towards the sentiments. So when it comes the finale and prior to it, kind of unpredictable, yet compromise in places to knot all the threads together for a perfect conclusion. Nicely done, only keeping in the mind the native audience, but if you are into world cinema, then it is just an okay flick. Still a good film to try once, so I recommend it.

7/10

The movie with no big stars, no car chasing, no item dance, no promotions but having a great story with an extraordinary screen play. Apart from the movie M.S.Bhaskar just nailed his character. A must watch movie.

8 Thottakal (8 bullets) - One among the many reasons for admiring this accidently stumbled upon flick would be the integrity of director Sri Ganesh in including a whole list of "filmography" titles in the end credits as his inspirations in making the movie - Akira Kurasova's Stray Dog(1949), Breaking Bad series, Badlapur, Wild Tales, Couple of Mysskin movies etc. . As an average viewer who would be so engrossed in this well-paced thriller, you wouldn't be thinking this as a plagiarized piece, but would surely connect the dots once you see this revelation at the end and subsequently the premises of movie inspired from the same.

Sathya, a honest but timid cop with a dark past accidentally loses his service pistol which was loaded with eight bullets. Before he could retrieve the pistol, it makes its way into the black market and gets sold off to a man named Moorthy, who uses it for a bank robbery. While Sathya desperately searches for his pistol, a series of murders start to happen by the same pistol. Rest of the movie is all about the twists, turns and narrations which culminates into a bloody emotional climax, largely unconventional for the supposedly thriller mould of this movie.

The movie would be remembered for M.S.Bhaskar, essentially reminisced for his on and off comedy roles , who gives an enactment of his lifetime as the antagonist/protagonist , the biggest beauty of the film which doesn't try to fit the characters into preconceived shells of virtue or vice. A good Tamil movie to watch after Dhruvangal 16, 8 Tottakal deserves serious appreciation for combining thriller and emotional elements most convincingly, the only bleak points being the under emoting lead actor Vetri and a couple of love songs squeezed in between at the most bizarre junctures.

The movie was good. The movie was interesting and thrilling. M.S.Bhaskar acted very well in the movie. Some scenes in the movie was boring. BGM is good in the movie.

I rated it 9 for various reason. The most important reason will be MS baskar acting. Really inspired. He plays through out the film, whatever it may be revenge or sentiment or emotional, he nailed it. I can watch it again just for him. Other than that the story flow through out the movie was awesome. No lag in-between. Less love scenes. Perfectly balanced. Music was thr big backbone of the movie. Overall a perfect crime thriller movie.