A gripping crime drama with compelling performances

Por Thozhil

Tamil (Theatres)

Director: Vignesh Raja

Cast: R Sarathkumar, Ashok Selvan, Nikhila Vimal

Rating: 4/5

'Por Thozhil’ is perhaps one of the best crime thrillers made in India in recent times. Prakash (played by Ashok Selvan), newly appointed inspector, is a gold medalist with a faint heart. He is teamed up with a strict senior, Lokhanathan (R Sarathkumar), to investigate his first case. Prakash, though different in sensibility, bond as they investigate five identical murders in the town of Trichy in Tamil Nadu.

Prakash is given to quoting from various books even as Lokhanathan looks at him with scepticism. At a murder site, no doctor is around to determine the time of the murder, and Prakash tests the victim’s temperature by inserting a thermometer through the ear. The average temperature of the brain is 37 degrees C, and after death, it comes down by one degree every hour, he says. This leaves Lokhanathan impressed. Prakash slyly hints that he got the idea from a book. This kind of adept writing is what most Indian crime thrillers lack.

In the first scene, a drunken policeman spots a body in the pitch dark when lightning strikes. As the film proceeds, Lokhanathan guides an anxious policeman over the phone about how to interrogate a prime suspect. The narrative blends in humour as the plot gains pace and becomes intriguing.

Sarathkumar, Sarath Babu and Ashok Selvan deliver compelling performances. Sarath Babu, whose appearance takes one by surprise, portrays a one-of-a-kind character.

While Lokhanathan believes nothing can justify crime, Prakash is convinced psychological trauma pushes the vulnerable to crime. ‘Por Thozhil,’ directed by Vignesh Raja, ends with Prakash offering his headphones and an mp3 player to a boy traumatised by fighting parents.