Adanga Maru

Karthik Thangavel's 2018 Tamil film follows an honest policeman suspended for clashing with influential people. After those close to him are killed, he steps outside the system and begins settling accounts one by one. The film follows the known steps of the revenge narrative but takes its central crime seriously: violence against women and the way influential figures cover it up. The subject appears often in Tamil cinema and is handled here plainly and directly. Ravi Mohan leads. The action is well staged, particularly the sequences in enclosed spaces. But the film never questions justice being delivered outside the system, and the general problem of the revenge genre stands here as it does elsewhere. Who it's for: those who enjoy Tamil action thrillers. Who it's not for: viewers troubled by sexual violence used as narrative material; the film shows it directly and makes it the ground for revenge.