User Reviews

This movie will definitely change the perspective which people generally have on police. This movie very nicely depicted the hardship of a lower rank police officers. Screenplay, dialogue, acting was super. Waiting for part 2.

Debutant director Thamizh is a new find of Kollywood,with a fresh script,flawless screenplay supported by lal & m.s Bhaskar brilliant performance other actors crispy performance,a good flick can't get better than this.. Overall a film not to be missed in ur watchlist.

This is not a usual competition between 2 teams but rather a competition between 2 ideologies. I was simply amazed how the last act folded out in sequences with an unusual stretch of demotivational lines. MS Bhaskar deserves everything for this role. It was overwhelming and emotional, realistic and every character is too good. Must watch!!

A movie which relies on simple human theme of oppression and showing true grit even when nothing goes your way. Standing up to the system. Best movie of Vikram Prabhu career. This movie is made on a low budget and has some new faces and some familiar ones. Lal has a menacing presence while M S Bhaskar is his usual best. 10/10 for the theme and the message.

Unique movie that was never seen before. Hats off to Vikram Prabhu for choosing this script. He did Justice to his role. Villains were matched perfectly for the roles. It was a gripping story. Kudos to the team.

New area is explored. If the director is able to make a series of cop based movies this movie is a good start. This movie reminds me Malayalam cop movies. A Movie close to reality.

Terrific movie with great performances. It has its own flaws but if we able to ignore those on big stars why not on a content movie like this. Gives hope for quality of Tamil movies.

Taanakkaran (2022) : Breif Review -

A Stunning Exposure of Police Oppression and Exploitation during the Training Process, and again, it's some South industry at work. Visaranai, Nayattu, Naandhi, Writer.. and now "Taanakkaran" joins the list. I hope you know what that means. If you don't, then please watch all these films to understand why I mentioned all of them together here. The way South industries are exposing the police system, politicians, and law & justice system is really impressive. I must salute them for that. Despite knowing the possible pressure, censorship, and planted outrage, they do it fearlessly. Taanakkaran is another fearless attempt to expose one of the major aspects of the police system, the training period. What happens behind those closed doors of police camps and on parade grounds is something that most ordinary people don't know. This film takes you through that hell, and believe me, it is brutally honest while disclosing the corrupt officers. One honest, ambitious young man stands against the big set up and raises his voice against those inhuman cops, managing to beat all the odds. The film is not just about, but it also tries to focus on every single aspiring candidate who wishes to serve the nation in uniform. There are big revelations like how many have died during the training period and how casteism leads to bullying that can even cause suicide. There's a lot of drama, inspirational stuff, unbearable scenes of torture/punishment, inside politics and conspiracies. There's a little bit of romance too, but only glimpses, not full fledged. What a sweet song that "Kattikoda" was! Adorable and alluring, and addictive. Rest, the performances are good, the screenplay is engaging, the dialogues are real, the story is powerful, and the direction is fairly accurate. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't recommend it to quality cinema lovers.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

This one of the best movie which spoken reality on society . Kudos to the dialogue department. Background score blend to story. Ending climax is close to reality of society. If you want to make change in society.

Good Movie. Everybody acted well in the movie. Songs and BGM in the movie was good. The movie was so interesting and thrilling at 1st half. The movie somewhat bored and lagged at 2nd half. Good Movie.

What a class movie..ghibran background score is excellent...great come back for Vikram prabhu....amazing work by the whole crew..kudos to the whole team..must watch....don't miss it....

A well made Drama , which keep us engaged throughout the movie . Didn't expect anything before watching . Story and story environment was new . First time they shown oppression , abuse and violence faced by the Police trainees . It was so disturbing to watch it . "What happens if a common man goes against a whole system ?" Reality was well Potrayed . Eventhough movie speaks about reality , it never fails to motivate . After a long time Vikram Prabhu gave us a good movie . His performance was good . MS Bhaskar again gave an excellent performance . Some of the supporting cast performance was also impressive , especially Chittappa emotional speech was really tearjerker for me . Director Tamizh gave a good debut . Drawbacks , flashback sequence in second half wasn't quite connectable , unwanted romance track and few flaws . Overall a must watch drama movie . Don't miss it.

The excitement to see Taanakkaran was very high due to the wonderful cast and plot. The bubble was sadly burst when the movie dragged and turned into more of a documentary than a cinematic experience

DELICIOUS

---We thank Tamizh for shedding light on the history of police training; right from the start, we were taken through a brief presentation on how it originated during colonial times, which was great to know

We observed the immense disrespect (both verbal and physical) that the trainees have to tolerate as well as the rivalry among the trainees to make it to the top

-The yellow color grading was an appropriate choice to stress the dust, heat, painful atmosphere, and a bit of the police uniform too :D

BLAND

---The biggest concern with Taanakkaran was the monotonous training camp location which took up about 90% of the movie.

It was tedious and disengaging to see the same place in addition to the repetitive extra drills (ED) and conflicts between the trainees and officers.

The storytelling did have a few thrilling moments but overall, it was plain. Taanakkaran was more like a documentary showcasing the incidents taking place in the camp without leading us toward a goal

---Vikram Prabhu seemed more like a superhero portrayed as 'the most' courageous, 'the most' enduring, and 'the most' caring of his batch. We would have loved to identify with his weaknesses or insecurities.

This movie really speaks about the cruelty and inhumanity in police training ans the movie was well crafted that I couldn't take my eyes away.

If some police officers watch this movie it can make them think about the flaws in their department.

A movie that speaks volumes on Police reforms rather than celebrating usual muscularity associated with police. I loved it as I dint see any scene a repetition of the cliche ones. The parade scenes gave Goosebumps. Worth watching 👍😀

Director Tamizh hits a first ball sixer in his debut! We expect no less from an assistant director for hit movies and the terrific actor (Gurumoorthy police officer of "Jai Bhim")

However .... If only the intensity portrayed in the trailer was maintained throughout the film, we could have come out satisfied completely. The movie is very brave, showing the reality as it is without any flowery airbrushing. Still, some scenes appear haphazard and too disorganised to create an impact on the wider audience

For instance, think of the scenes just before the interval. Some actions of the characters are not given depth/context and the immediate cut to the next placid scenes are jarring. A tighter script with no room for a continuous tear-fest would have been much better.

Overall, the film is enjoyable with many enjoyable performances from everyone. As a serious police film, there is no room for comedy. This could be a good thing, given how unrelated comic relief scenes ruin Tamil movies. The romance portions could have been built upon more, along with the good performances given.

The climax could have gotten a better treatment, Tamil audience may not like such bittersweet endings. As a result, such films may not attract more than a day's number of audience for films like "Vikram". Still, even a bittersweet ending could have been presented with more passion and with a vengeance. The opposing team could have been given more close up shots and more lines

If some silliness of film-making style can be avoided, we can expect many great films from the director in the future. Even now, Taanakkaran remains the best Tamizh film of 2022. This is just not the crowdpleaser people are in the mood for now, with the end of the pandemic etc...

Technically the movie is decent made, the cinematography looks stunning in some places but then the dubbing and audio seemed to be a bit off at times, The background music has worked well in elevating the scenes and captivating emotions.

Every actor seems to have played their role well except Vikram Prabhu, He barely even speaks throughout the movie, mostly just silent reactions which would look classy at times but the same pattern is repeated throughout the movie. As usual the female actors has no significant impact and could have been completely removed. The movie ends with a great message which deserves the time spent on watching this movie.

All actors gave their best in this movie. Great screenplay, best movie of vikram prabhu. MS Bhaskar rocked and villians are the pillars of this movie. This kind of film should be released in theatre.

The director's first movie and it looks so - screenplay looks like some randomly conceived scenes put together, poor editing where scenes transition and end abruptly, poor character development.

The entire plot revolves around 2 sentences of research done by the screen writer. Had the promise to be much better but ends up an amateurish attempt.

Its a good honest inspiring film with good performances from all the artists. Worth watching. Its written well to include a bit of romance, well acted by the female artist.

This movie is probably one of the best movies in made in Tamil in the recent past in terms of content, probably next to Jai Bhim! Yet it is good that they have released in OTT, as not sure, if it would have been welcomed in theatres.

Hats off to director Tamizh for making such an important, educating movie about the life of Police and the hardships they face before becoming Police, at the same time for people aspiring to become police this could be a shocker!

Acting of Vikram Prabhu, Lal, Bose Venkat, MS Bhaskar & Madhusudhan Rao was really great, and they have lived their roles to perfection.

Waiting for next movie of director Tamizh...

Worthy watch - very minor flaws.

Word of mouth is the best publicity and a good movie always ll get that. This year after Vilangu, Taanakkaran earned it.

Check out my full review in our Dstory YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/DstoryReview)

In his debut directorial, Tamizh tried to implore the adverse effects of herd mentality when it is intertwined with power and a reward-based system. Though as earnest as it might sound, the script lacks the engagement that it tries to achieve, in spite of the hard work that went behind it.

Prelude

It was more than a year since the first look poster was out on the internet; my eyes literally clung to the movie because of two major reasons - its unique name - Taanakkaran - that basically means the person-in-charge of a police station, and the way Vikram Prabhu was holding the arms - It felt strong, honest, where the arms and uniform were embraced with pride. Tamizh announced himself as a no-nonsense person. It might sound dramatic but I had a gut feeling (a pretty huge one!) that this film will deliver.

Vikram Prabhu - The Taanakkaran

Despite hailing from a family with a strong film background, Vikram Prabhu had to toil his way through, just like a cadre in the Police Training Academy as showcased in this film. A feature was long due from him, which could showcase his potential, which will voice out the actor in him, and a film that is true to his nature. I think Taanakkaran answered that. Be it his physique, his voice, his expressions, they graced the film just like the outfit he adored in the first look poster.

It is so rewarding whenever an actor, especially the lead actor, strives hard to make the film viewing experience as close as possible to the audience. The performer in Vikram Prabhu made him do the squat jumps, and march on the ground with utmost sincerity with a cloud of dust surrounding him. I was surprised by the influence he had on the movie with his mere presence.

The Ordered and the Disordered

Beginning with a short prelude about what should be expected out of the movie, Tamizh made it clear that he is the real Taanakkaran - the person in charge. His intention was quite clear in showcasing how failed the police system actually is. There is this brilliant scene involving a constable, a neem tree, and a guard, that easily explains the underlying problem rooted in our society. It transcends the police force to the society we live in - we keep on doing things in an orderly manner without even knowing the reason for that. It is almost similar to what was discussed in Mahaan, with various themes of power, hierarchy, and herd mentality.

When it comes to crucial characters, the casting choices were pretty much spot on, especially Lal as Eshwaramurthy. He was what the doctor ordered for - fierce, unapologetic, cruel, and of course, the integral part of the "system". On second thought, the film resembled a spiritual twin of Writer, a 2021 Tamil crime thriller. Both these films showcased the weaker side of a community that was thought of as brave, and cruel, showing no leniency whatsoever. Both these films brought the police force much closer to society on a philosophical level, saying that they are not so different after all. Even a supposedly light-hearted scene involving a female officer, a tree, and a superior's office, says about how the "system" works.

As positive as it might sound, the honesty that was there in the intention behind Taanakkaran did not properly translate onto the script, which is reflected in the execution as well. Tamizh might have achieved the target he had in his mind, but it seemed he settled for a level than leaping for it.

With an intense story unfolding inside a closed compound, Taanakkaran required several moments that could engage the audience throughout its runtime. Though certain moments did work, especially the first ED involving Arivu (Vikram Prabhu) and Eeswara Moorthy (Lal), the script failed to cash on other occasions, which could've improved the result.

For a narration covering more than a few months of training, I was surprised that I could not feel the transition in time. Though there are several callback moments, especially the ones between the lead characters, it felt as if everything unfolded in a matter of a week or so. This in turn had an adverse effect on a feature with a runtime of 140 minutes.

The background score from Ghibran, though intense during certain moments, was overwhelming on many occasions that it overlapped the actors on screen. However, I feel it was required in order to convey the seriousness of the film, as well as its commercial viability, to a large section of the audience.

Having said that, the sound design of the film was pretty impressive. Be it the blades rustling against each other to remove every inch of hair (self-respect), the drilling environment, and the lathis earning for human contact, the sound design was brilliant in instigating the fear and a sort of creepiness into our minds. My wishes to M. R. Raja Krishnan (Sound mixing), M. Ilayaraja (Associate - Sound Production).

The Honesty

The most interesting part of the film lies in the climax, where Director Tamizh shied away from a traditional ending and depicted the nature of the system and how cruel it might seem. Adding to the answer of why Arivu wishes to be a police officer, Taanakkaran mentions a different approach to "clean" up the dirt. The extremely brief role of Bose Venkat as Inspector Mathi had a better impact in this regard than I imagined.

Taanakkaran is not a genius film for sure. But it never let down its guard of sincerity. It is so honest that it did not even try to cover its mistakes. With a film of such a magnitude, Tamizh achieved something great that many falter at the word go! Handling such a big crowd, under tough environmental conditions is not an easy joke. I should say Tamizh did his best in making Taanakkaran an earnest and honest attempt.

The movie is like a middle bench student, who strives hard to get the best mark possible. He indeed gets the best possible mark, but could not be the topper. Nevertheless, its a best for him, and we all know, he has the potential to break it through. We see the honesty behind it, an earnest attempt, despite the flaws. Just like Ruettiger in the 1993 film - Rudy.

It is not making the strong the strongest, but the importance lies in empowering the weaker, which Arivu tried to do with his batch. Though a baby step, Taanakkaran is for sure, a step ahead in quality and earnest filmmaking.