Polladhavan

Vetrimaaran's 2007 debut feature transplants the structure of Bicycle Thieves to Chennai. The unemployed Prabhu goes after his motorcycle, bought with his father's money, when it is stolen; learning it has been used to transport drugs, he finds himself in far greater trouble. The film is about how an object comes to stand for a young man's place in society. The realism of Vetrimaaran's later films is established here: the narrow streets of Chennai, the tension between father and son, the ordinariness of violence. Dhanush's performance never makes the protagonist invincible. The film's limit is a second half where the genre template starts running the story. Who it's for: viewers interested in realist Tamil crime cinema and Vetrimaaran's work. Who it's not for: anyone uncomfortable with the density of the violence, or who will object to the limited place given to the woman character.