Arrambam

Buildings begin exploding in Mumbai. Behind it is a man called Ashok Kumar whom nobody can identify. He takes on a hacker, Arjun, who is first deceived and then learns what the job is. The targets are a corrupt developer and a larger file: the bulletproof vests issued to soldiers were fake, and soldiers died because of it. Vishnuvardhan directs. Ajith Kumar plays Ashok and Arya plays Arjun, with Nayanthara and Taapsee Pannu in the cast. It opened on 31 October 2013, runs about two and a half hours and was made on a budget of sixty crore rupees. The structure rests on withholding. Who Ashok is and why he is doing this comes late; the first half proceeds as a crime film and the second as a revenge story. The matter underneath is corruption in defence procurement, a real subject of argument in India, and the narrative places it inside a mainstream action shape. Ajith Kumar was among the largest names in Tamil cinema at the time and the film was positioned as one of his commercial vehicles. The action is at large scale and well staged technically, particularly the explosion at the opening. Who it is for: viewers who like Tamil action and revenge narratives. Who it is not for: it runs long, the plot is over convoluted, and the women have limited function.