‘Tanaakkaran’ movie review: A promising cop drama headlined by a restrained Vikram Prabhu

When a cat in the monastery kept making noise during the evening meditation, the Zen master asked his disciples to tie him to a wall. They started doing this every evening to stop the cat mess. This practice continued even after the Guru’s departure. Then the cat moved on. But it was replaced by another cat to continue the practice.

This popular Zen story illustrates the absurdity that can result from following orders unquestioningly. is a cop tanakkaran Which is quite like a ritual cat. He guards a tree inside a police compound because years ago, when the tree was a sapling, a senior cop ordered one of his subordinates to guard it against goats. Unlike the cat story, the people involved here are aware of the absurdity. Yet they never challenge the status quo, as they are part of a system that hates to question and appreciates obedience.

Tameez, who wrote and directed the film (his first) before starting the story, gives a brief explanation about the Indian police system, which was created by the colonial regime to serve its interests, but has been hierarchical. , and sometimes even dehumanizing. Tamil filmmakers usually resort to making their policemen testosterone-charged, trigger-happy vigilance, who are immune to the laws of physics and human rights violations. Tamiz, instead of resorting to this good-cop, bad-cop game, is eager to critique the system through a sober story set in a police training center.

Setting up training camps is new to Tamil cinema police, which we usually see outside or in police stations. Situated in 1998 at Pozilaru, Tirunelveli, this camp is a character in itself. It has a barren parade ground, which is dry under the sun without a haze of shade. The trainees’ rooms are pale in comparison to prisons. Their toilets can be claustrophobic. And, the ratio of trainees to toilets is about 70:1.

The facilities at the camp, however, are not as unforgiving as those of one of its training officers, Easwarmurthy (played by Lal). He is someone who likes discipline… or rather, one who likes discipline. Although he is not the most senior officer, he has a reputation for being brutal. One of the trainees, Arivu (Vikram Prabhu), questions his authority (albeit unknowingly). This nicely sets up the film’s struggle: the face of the system that hates to question versus the one that questions.

Tameez, however, does not make Arivu a typical mass hero. Unlike other commercial cop films in Tamil, Arivu’s heroism lies not in his charisma but in his perseverance. There’s no screaming punchline, just silent resilience. We also get a solid flashback that explains her motivation to endure.

Vikram Prabhu fits perfectly in this role. There were only a few scenes jarring in regards to his character, when the character becomes a bit melodramatic. The romantic angle with Anjali Nair, who plays an officer in the camp, leads nowhere and could have been avoided. In fact, a soulful song kills the gritty mood of the intense camp setting. Another character’s casual body-shaming was also a topic of discussion in a film that attempts to discuss what is right.

Despite being the sole protagonist, the secondary characters also get ample screen space. And, most of the actors do a decent job, especially MS Bhaskar as a cop who has been wronged by the system, but has to live under it.

Lal’s character is more interesting. He seems a bit one-sided in the beginning but as the film progresses, we get to know that he too is a cog in the wheel. In the end, Arivu learns that he is not battling a person but a centuries-old system. Even the token spirit of victory in Tameez’s promising debut is subdued. The protagonist can’t beat the system but he can make it a little better.

‘Taanakaran’ is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar