8 Thottakkal

A slow paced edgy social thriller that engrosses the viewed till the end. The structure and narrative of the film is unlike anything we had seen before in Tamil cinema. The film start off with a bleak episode in which a young man is framed for murder

He grows up to be a police officer but soon gets himself into another big trouble when he loses his revolver.His superiors, co are corrupt and care for nothing more than their own advancement. The fact that he is close to a journalist who is at odds with his boss forms more schisms that he could do without. And now, his job (and his peace of mind) is at stake with the loss of his gun. Could he retrieve it in time before blood is spilled and save his job? This forms the reminder of edge of the seat thriller.

In comes a elderly man character with issues, who is retired cop himself and the rest of the film changes track to a story that shows the plight of our elderly in contemporary society . Do we take out elderly for granted? What about the backstories of the people in our society like cops and criminals, which sounds all too familiar to that of the characters in the film? These anticipations will keep your mind occupied as the film rolls along.

First of all kudos to MBbhaskaran who had done an excellent job, probably the finest in his career. We have only seen him in comedy roles and this film has catapulted him into a level that is totally unexpected with his portrayal as the elderly man with issues. The lead hero , a newcomer could have pulled off his role in a more emotional way than one sided timid cop who gets bullied by others.

But most of the film revolves around the performance of M Bhaskaran This is a The film threads the thin line between art-house and commercial cinema in with a certain degree of rawness in the story, acting performances and writing filled with genuine amounts of emotion and filled with realism that is as close to reality but yet pulling the fantasy elements together.

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.

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

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 initial set up of the movie is enough to make a good impression about the movie and 8 Thottakkal has done just that. Initial few minutes into the movie makes us think it's worth the money. The mystery behind the gun, the twists and turns, mind boggling narration keep us hooked throughout the first half.

The second half might feel a bit slow, especially the songs. One might wonder whets the need of this song here. Apart from the song and a few leggy moments the movie sticks to its core subject. Once you watch the complete movie you will have a satisfied movie watching experience.

Though the movie has many characters it's MS.Basker who stands out. So far we have seen him as a comedian (At least in most of the movies), but Sri Ganesh has other idea for him. Ganesh has penned a perfect character to bring out excellent performance from MS.Baskar. His acting, dialogue delivery and expressions are simply superb.

Vetri as the cop has done justification to his role. He has delivered what is needed from his character. Apart from the lead characters each and every character is important in the movie and everyone stays in our hearts with their performance.

Cinematography is the biggest plus to the movie. Every frame is set in keeping the story in mind. He hasn't done anything unseal to annoy us. Music was great in the first half, but it would have been a bit better in the second.

It is Sri Ganesh who steals the show. His direction and characterization are carries the movie throughout. His in depth research about his subjects and perfect picturisation of each character speaks his hard work. Hats off to him.

On the whole 8 Thottakkal is one of the best movies of 2017.