Khakee/Theeran Adhigaram Ondru is an ideal paradigm of an entertaining commercial film that is neither lethargic nor ludicrous. Unarguably, it was one of the best movies, that wasn’t supposed to be missed in 2017. Movies based on real-life incidents always make us root for the characters and here’s an inspiring story of a cop who turns into a hero when faced with extraordinary circumstances. Karthi’s Khakee, directed by H Vinoth, is one of the finest realistic cop stories in recent times. It was a well-crafted movie, based on a sensational and gruesome crime committed by organised maundering goons that do not leave a trace behind, and in police records, some of them remain unsolved. After his striking debut with the con-heist thriller Sathuranga Vettai (loosely based on real-life incidents), Vinoth has chosen the famous ‘Operation Bawaria’ spearheaded by the then Inspector-General of Police (North Zone) S. R. Jangid and his team, as they arrested dacoits from North India for executing crimes and robberies in Tamil Nadu. Vinoth takes us back to that time in history, where we see it through the eyes of a young police officer. Dheeraj (Karthi) is an upright police officer, who uses his brain and brawn in equal proportions.
A super-cop film has always been a favourite for larger-than-life Tamil stars. All top stars have an affinity to don the Khakee and have done this role umpteen times in commercial movies. Karthi too has done a commercial cop character in his super hit film Siruthai. However, there is an ocean difference between the two films, as the script of Khakee is based on real-life, raw scenes brimming with drama.
The thing to note about DSP Dheeraj, the protagonist of the movie, is that he’s a pragmatic cop at least to the extent that a big-budget South Indian film, with a big hero, will allow for realism. He does not get a conventional hero-entry scene. He’s introduced quietly, as he’s undergoing police training with several others. Of course, he’s at the centre of the frame. Of course, he gets the highest remarks. Of course, he knows better than anyone else the right way to handle a knife at a crime scene. He makes a killer PowerPoint presentation, with killer fonts. He even intuits the last words of a woman who was murdered, and he wasn’t even at the scene.
Khakee is easily one of the superbly researched and stylishly shot cop thriller in South Indian cinema, kudos to director Vinoth as he has not only registered the facts but also packaged it in a commercial format to engage the audiences. Except for the romantic portions which are annoying after a while, it is an exemplary work from the young director. We have seen the sarcastic one-liners of Vinoth in Sathuranga Vettai, and here too he has written similar funny moments mocking the system and lethargic cops without moving out of the screenplay flow. Kudos to the director for his research work and shooting the second half of the film in a terrain completely new to South India cinema.
Khakee has authentically showcased the modus-operandi of the cops, how an investigation would progress, practical challenges in arresting criminals and their sacrifices for their profession without cinematic glorification or melodrama. Especially, the pre-interval stretch is easily the best sequence in the film as the director brings his audience to the edge of the seat. Khakee is one film Karthi can be proud of in his career, as he has invested both physical strength and emotional courage, and gives us a hero that’s hard not to root for. The film expectedly rests on his shoulders, and he underplays his character beautifully, delivering the stray note of humour almost conversationally. The actor has given his life for the character, we can see the physical challenges he would’ve undergone for the film, mainly in the action sequences in extremely hot locations. We honestly hope that a fine actor like him doesn’t get trapped in mass formulaic films in future.
Rakul as Priya is the namesake heroine in the film, though her character has enough screen space in a cop thriller like this. She looks pretty and her chemistry with Karthi is good. Among the supporting cast, Bose Venkat has a full-length role and he completely justifies it with a neat performance. Villains Abhimanyu Singh, Rohith Pathak and Surendar Thakur brings a creepy, menacing presence to their characters. On the downside, the film is a bit lengthy at 2 hours 37 minutes.
The film works well if you’re willing to settle for a parts-greater-than-whole experience. There are plenty of sharp, funny lines, and the highlights keep coming, like a superbly choreographed action stretch on a bus. Khakee is a vast improvement over Sathuranga Vettai, where one sensed a lot of entertaining writing and little else. Here, there’s some solid filmmaking in the quieter scenes, like when we see a cop with sad eyes, and the focus changes just a bit and we see another cop in the space behind, with his hands on his head. We know who’s had it worse. Plus, the 1999 setting is a lot of fun, from the antique mobile phones to the ancient methods of fingerprint analysis. Even if it falls short of the standards it sets for itself, Khakee gives us more than most action movies do.
