Pattas

R. S. Durai Senthilkumar's 2020 Tamil film follows a petty thief who learns about his father's past. The father was a master of a traditional martial art called adi murai and was killed. The son sets out both to take revenge and to bring the art into view. What is interesting is that it carries a martial tradition particular to Tamil Nadu into a mainstream action film. The adi murai sequences establish a separate choreographic language and are set against modern combat sports. Dhanush plays both father and son. The narrative follows the template of such films and proceeds predictably; the disappearance of a traditional art is used not as a serious argument but as the justification for the action. Who it's for: those who like Tamil action cinema and martial arts films. Who it's not for: viewers looking for narrative depth; the film keeps the action ahead of the story.