Pa Paandi

Dhanush's first film as a director, this 2017 Tamil comedy drama follows a retired stunt master whose life inside his son's home keeps narrowing. Paandi still rides a motorcycle and still wants to make his own decisions; his son sees this as danger, and the friction eventually pushes the man out of the house and onto the road. At its centre is the reduction of old age to a question of care: how well-meaning children confine a parent without noticing. Rajkiran's performance mounts a defence of dignity without self-pity. Meeting the love of his youth again on the journey opens a second line in the film. The closing section is too corrective and the music heavy. Who it's for: viewers who like Tamil family drama and films about old age. Who it's not for: anyone wanting action, or put off by emotional steering.