Rajaputhiran Movie Review: Familiar territory meets expected destinations
Rajaputhiran Movie Synopsis: A devoted farmer must rescue his son from a dangerous money-laundering racket in rural Tamil Nadu.
Rajaputhiran Movie Review: Rajaputhiran remains stubbornly frozen in the 1990s, abandoning modern sensibilities in its nostalgic time capsule. Set in drought-stricken Ramanathapuram, the film follows Chellaiyah (Prabhu), a principled farmer whose son Patta (Vetri) falls in with Linga (Komal Kumar), the local kingpin of illegal hundi operations – the old-school way of transferring money from Middle Eastern laborers to their families back home.
The dual tracks of Patta's syrupy romance with Poochendu (Krishnapriya) and his slide into Linga's operation unfold with the predictability of a village bus route. When Patta loses a money consignment, dad mortgages the family land faster than you can say "screenplay necessity." What follows is a by-the-numbers rural actioner where an uneducated village lad suddenly develops the wherewithal to contact economic fraud officers, yet still walks into the villain's den expecting a friendly chat. Poochendu too breaks free from the typical passive girlfriend mold, stepping in conveniently when the plot demands.
Prabhu brings his trademark animated charm to the doting father, infusing the character with genuine warmth that makes his protective instincts feel authentic. Vetri commits fully to the wide-eyed simplicity required of his role. Krishnapriya is adequate, and the rest of the cast fills their designated slots. Oliver Deny's cinematography captures the arid landscape with an eye for the region's stark beauty, while competent sound design elevates what could have been a straight-to-TV affair. Some comedy bits land, particularly when Patta's friend (Thangadurai) returns from Kuwait, though the romance segments feel lifted from a decades-old playbook.
The climactic twist aims for tragedy but lands closer to eye-roll territory, with character decisions that defy even rural drama logic. Rajaputhiran works best as comfort viewing for those nostalgic for simpler storytelling, where villains twirl mustaches and heroes make fatally naive choices. The kind of film that makes you nostalgic for nostalgia itself.
Written By: Abhinav Subramanian
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