Boss Engira Baskaran

M. Rajesh's 2010 Tamil film continues the director's template of comedy built around a group of friends. The unemployed Bhaskaran falls for Chandrika, a young lecturer, and works various schemes with his friend Nallathambi to get her attention and build a career at the same time. The story rests less on plot than on line-by-line comedy. Santhanam's comic thread is typical of the tendency in Tamil cinema at the time for the supporting comedian to become as important as the lead; the best-remembered parts are his. The structure is loose and the scenes proceed without being tied together. The woman character's function is almost entirely limited to being the hero's objective, which is the film's weakest feature. Who it's for: viewers who like Tamil comedies of around 2010 and Santhanam's work. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a tightly plotted story, or troubled by how the women characters are handled.