# Pattas

Pattas (/pəttɑːs/ transl. Firecracker) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language martial arts film written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar and produced by Sathya Jyothi Films. It stars Dhanush in a dual role, alongside Sneha and Mehreen Pirzada. Naveen Chandra, Nassar, Munishkanth and Manobala play supporting roles. The film entered production in March 2019 and ended that December. It was released theatrically on 15 January 2020, coinciding with Pongal, to mixed reviews from critics but became a box office success.

## Plot

In Chennai, Shakthi alias Pattas and his accomplice, Puncture rob a mixed martial arts (MMA) academy due to their enmity with their neighbourhood girl, Sadhana Sha. Meanwhile, Kanyakumari "Kanya", a released convict from Kerala, follows Nilapparai alias Nilan, the owner of the MMA academy in an attempt to kill him, but meets Pattas and recognises him as her son, Shakthi. Nilan finds that Kanya is trying to kill her and attempts to capture her, but in vain. When Kanya arrives to meet Pattas, Sadhana unknowingly sets up Kanya under Nilan's instructions and leaves her to get attacked. The thugs arrive at Kanya's location to kill her, but Shakthi rescues her and learns about his past.
In the past, Shakthi's father, Dhiraviya Perumal learns Adimurai through his teacher Muthaiah Asaan, Nilan's father and a skilled Adimurai warrior, based in Nagercoil. Nilan is unable to learn Adimurai and leaves the village after being defeated by Kanya in a fight. Due to an incident, Dhiraviya Perumal realises that Adimurai is not known to Tamil Nadu and opens an Adimurai school to spread awareness about Adimurai. Nilan returns home as a kickboxing champion with his family and kickboxing friends. Nilan plans to recruit Adimurai practitioners to learn kickboxing, where he ask Dhiraviya Perumal to transform it as a kickboxing academy and make more profits, but Dhiraviya Perumal refuses.
Nilan and his friends try to recruit Adimurai students into kickboxing, but to no avail. An altercation between Nilan's brother-in-law and a boy leads a fight between Nilan and Dhiraviya Perumal, where the latter easily defeats Nilan. Enraged, Nilan kills Muthaiah Asaan and poisons the food of the academy, affecting staff members, teachers and students. Nilan burns down the academy with the help of his friends and massacre any academy survivors and Nilan burns Dhiraviya Perumal alive, where Kanya witnesses this and manages to escape with Shakthi. While escaping from Nilan's friends, Shakthi gets injured and it leads him to forget his past, and Kanya angrily kills one of them, which is noticed by the police nearby and Kanya gets imprisoned in Kerala. Shakthi is found by Kolusu in Chennai, where he was adopted and renamed as Pattas.
In the present, Shakthi swears vengeance and enrolls in the MMA event organised by Nilan. Shakthi is trained by Kanya, in the art of Adimurai. On the day of the event, Nilan uses a convict from Thailand to fight with Shakthi. Shakthi defeats him, but the convict stabs him in the right shoulder. Nevertheless, Shakthi still fights the next opponent and wins as he is ambidextrous. Nilan asks his son Richard to use unethical methods to kill Shakthi, but Richard refuses and forfeits the match. Sadhana eavesdrops on Nilan and tells Shakthi, but she ends up getting smashed into a glass table. Due to this, Sadhana is rushed to the hospital. Nilan challenges Shakthi to a fight. A fight ensues in which Shakthi defeats the latter and wins the championship. Later, Shakthi gives a speech about Adimurai and its importance, which leads the Tamil Nadu Sports Ministry to accept Adimurai as a sport, thus achieving Dhiraviya Perumal's dream of spreading Adimurai throughout Tamil Nadu.

## Cast

* Dhanush in dual roles as
** Dhiraviya Perumal, Shakthi's father and Kanyakumari's husband
** Shakthi alias Pattas, Dhiraviya Perumal and Kanyakumari's son
* Sneha as Kanyakumari (Kanya), Shakthi's mother and Dhiraviya Perumal's wife
* Mehreen Pirzada as Sadhana Sha, Shakthi's love interest, later wife
* Naveen Chandra as Nilapparai a.k.a Nilan, Dhiraviya Perumal's friend turned enemy and Muthaiah Aasaan's son
* Nassar as Muthaiah Aasaan, Dhiraviya Perumal's mentor and Nilapparai's father
* Munishkanth as Kolusu, Shakthi's foster father
* Manobala as Sadhana's father
* KPY Sathish as Puncture, Shakthi's accomplice
* Aasaan P. Selvaraj as Aasaan, Sakthi's trainer
* Azhagu as Kanyakumari's father
* Bonda Mani as Bonda
* KPY Kothandam as Head Constable
* M. J. Shriram as Politician
* Telephone Raj as Vegetable Seller
* Subhashini Kannan as Kannur Police inspector
* Navin Kumar as Elango
* "Black Sheep" Nandhini as Kanyakumari's friend
* Deepa Shankar as Elango's mother
* Prakash Rajan as Doctor
* Nagendra Prasad as himself (cameo appearance in the song "Morattu Tamizhan Da")

## Production

In January 2019, it was announced that Dhanush had signed a two-film deal with Sathya Jyothi Films, with one of the two films being directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar. Sneha joined as the lead actress in early March 2019, reuniting with Dhanush after Pudhupettai (2006). For their roles, Dhanush and Sneha underwent training in the martial art Adimurai. Principal photography began on 6th March 2019 at Chennai, and was followed by schedules in Kanyakumari, Nagercoil and Aryankavu. In June 2019, Mehreen Pirzada joined the cast, portraying the love interest of Dhanush's son role. The title, Pattas was announced on 27th July 2019. Principal photography wrapped on 4 December 2019, and the movie was set to release in January 2020, coinciding with the Thai Pongal festival.

## Music

The music was composed by Vivek–Mervin. The audio rights were purchased by Lahari Music.
The album features seven tracks, of which three of them were released as singles, and the first single track titled "Chill Bro", which was sung by Dhanush, released on 1 December 2019, went viral on YouTube with its lyric video crossing 3 million views. The tracklist was released on 9 January 2020 and the full album was released two days later at the Suryan FM Radio Station in Chennai.
Studio Flicks rated the album 3 out of 5, stating, "Pattas is an album that easily indicates the movie is an out and out commercial entertainer and having used this term, it is sure that the songs will achieve an escalated stature with the visuals. For now, Chill Bro and Jigidi Killadi happen to be the instant attractions" and gave a verdict "Vivek-Mervin offer a tailor-made package that a commercial entertainer demands."

## Release and reception

The film was released on 15 January 2020, coinciding with the Pongal festival, and received mixed reviews from critics. Sreedhar Pillai, writing for Firstpost, gave 2.75/5 stars and wrote "Pattas is just a predictable run-of-the-mill 'festival special,' which is watchable only for Dhanush's swag and energetic style." The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "A formulaic action drama that is predictable from start to finish". S Subhakeerthana of The Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Pattas has "style", but less substance." Janani K of India Today gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Pattas tries to be a proper commercial entertainer that fails to entertain." Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Based on a Pongal formula, the film relies heavily on the Dhanush brand." Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute wrote "Pattas's triumph is that it's enjoyable while it lasts, much like a firecracker." Baradwaj Rangan wrote for Film Companion, "Dhanush double roles his way through an action drama that's the dictionary definition of formula."