Review of the movie “Pathu Thala”: Simbu is hot, but the gangster drama lacks any true bite

Although though it makes a lot of attempts to bring innovation to the Kannada original “Mufti,” “Pathu Thala” has too many problems that don’t do Silambarasan TR and Gautham Karthik, who gave it their best, justice.

One of the most striking aspects of filmmaker Narthan’s 2017 Kannada film Mufti was how it fleshed out a world of crime from the eyes of a cop sent undercover to hunt down an infamous mafia don. From the beginning, the shadow of the crime lord, played by Shiva Rajkumar, loomed large over every single scene until his eventual grand appearance. Even before we see him, he became a myth, a ghost, a Godfather-like figure, and the anticipation was real.

One of the most remarkable features of Kannada director Narthan’s 2017 film Mufti was how it depicted the criminal underworld through the eyes of a cop sent undercover to find a notorious mafia don. The criminal lord, played by Shiva Rajkumar, was always present in the background of every scene till he finally made a dramatic entrance. Even before he appeared, the anticipation was palpable as he quickly evolved into a legend, a ghost, and a Godfather-like character.

Silambarasan TR, who plays mafia boss AG Raavanan, a.k.a. AGR, makes a dramatic arrival midway through Mufti’s Tamil version Pathu Thala, but director Obeli N Krishna decides to show him in a shot immediately at the start. There’s still some mystery. And while though the undercover cop Sakthivel (Gautham Karthik), who infiltrates AGR’s gang, is still the focus of the tale, much of how he goes about it and the part he plays in the movie are diminished. These are not truly disappointments; in fact, many more and larger ideas from the source text have been purposefully altered, some of which have improved the plot and others of which have been ruthlessly destroyed, turning Pathu Thala into a stand-alone movie.

We begin in the middle of a contentious political conflict between the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Arunmozhi (Santhosh Pratap), and the deputy chief minister, Naanjilaar Gunasekaran (Gautham Vasudev Menon), who is powerful enough to overthrow the government. In an unexpected turn of events, the Chief Minister is abducted, and everyone’s attention is focused on AGR, a notorious mining mafia boss in Kanyakumari. Gautham Karthik’s Sakthivel (as Gana) is dispatched to learn more because all efforts are in vain. The fact that the majority of the party members believe Naanjilaar was involved in the CM’s disappearance only fuels his resentment towards AGR.