Pathu Thala

Pathu Thala () is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Obeli N. Krishna. A remake of the 2017 Kannada film Mufti, the film stars Silambarasan, Gautham Karthik, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Gautham Vasudev Menon, with Santhosh Prathap, Kalaiyarasan, Anu Sithara, Teejay Arunasalam, and Madhu Guruswamy in supporting roles. The music was composed by A. R. Rahman with editing by Praveen K. L. and cinematography by Farook J. Basha.

Pathu Thala was released on 30 March 2023 to positive reviews from critics. The film grossed ₹55 crore at the box office making it a commercial success.

Plot 
One night, Tamil Nadu CM Arunmozhi Raja goes missing. The CBI heads to investigate Ameer, who is the henchman of a dreaded crime boss AG Raavanan alias AGR. Ameer commits suicide when the CBI surrounds him everywhere in order to arrest him.

Meanwhile, Sakthivel I.P.S is an undercover CBI officer who is assigned to collect evidences in order to arrest AGR, where he works for Kareem Bhai at Vishakapatnam under the alias of Guna. One day, Bhai sends Guna to work for AGR, where he meets AGR's trusted henchman Selvin. Guna meets his ex-girlfriend Leela Thompson, a Tahsildar who makes an effort to thwart AGR's vehicles. He ends up earning the trust of AGR's right-hand man Singha after he manages to retrieve 400 crore from a goods train despite the vigilance team's attempts to retrieve the money. Deputy CM Naanjilar Gunasekaran, AGR's sworn enemy, gets Ruby Fernandez (head of the Fishermen’s Association) to compete for the by-election by protesting against AGR's illegal sand mining. The small protest escalates, resulting in the arson of an old age home 'Nesakaram'. Naanjilar alleges that AGR was behind the fire.

In retaliation, AGR beheads Ruby as Guna watches on. Guna finally meets AGR after he saves him from an assassination attempt orchestrated by Naanjilar. Guna learns that Arunmozhi’s wife Samudra is AGR’s sister, who resides with AGR along with her daughter Aradhana.

AGR later threatens Naanjilar, who vows to kill him. During the campaigning for the by-election, Selvin sees Leela and Guna having a conversation and suspects that he might be the mole in AGR’s gang. He breaks into Guna's residence and finds a pen-drive which has all evidence collected against AGR. Guna watches Selvin through the surveillance cameras hidden everywhere and sees Selvin get mysteriously killed. Meanwhile, the people residing in Nesakaram learn from Father Thomas that AGR had been running several old age homes and orphanages throughout the world, funded by the profits incurred from sand mining, which changes the public's view and respect for AGR.

AGR later kills his business manager Sabari after he learns that the latter killed Selvin, and had previously struck a deal with the vigilance team and Ruby as well, who was the one responsible for burning down Nesakaram under Naanjilar's instructions. AGR and Samudra reconcile over her husband’s disappearance on AGR's birthday with Guna's help. After a huge celebration, Guna meets AGR, where AGR reveals Arunmozhi's involvement with a pharmaceutical company, with plans to start an epidemic under the pretext of introducing a vaccine. This forced AGR to kidnap and kill Arunmozhi.

AGR further reveals that he knows Guna's real identity as an undercover cop Sakthi. Naanjilar arrives with his men to kill AGR. In the ensuing fight, Singha is killed and Sakthi is wounded while trying to save AGR, finally resulting in AGR killing Naanjilar. The next morning, the CBI arrived and arrest AGR despite huge protests by people to release him. While the CBI chief pushes Sakthi to submit his evidence, he says that the encrypted evidence was corrupted due to the gunshot. The CBI chief realizes that Sakthi has truly become AGR's Guna. Due to lack of evidence, AGR is released immediately and he leaves on his helicopter.

Cast 

 Silambarasan as AG Ravanan 'AGR', a crime boss
 Gautham Karthik as Guna / Sakthivel IPS, an undercover cop
 Gautham Vasudev Menon as Naanjilaar Gunasekaran, Deputy CM
 Priya Bhavani Shankar as Leela Thompson, the Tahsildar in Kanyakumari
 Santhosh Prathap as CM Arunmozhi, Samudra's husband and AGR's brother-in-law
 Anu Sithara as Samudra, AGR's sister and Arunmozhi's wife
 Kalaiyarasan as Ameer, AGR's henchman
 Teejay Arunasalam as Selvin, AGR's right-hand man
 Madhu Guruswamy as Singha, AGR's commander
 Joe Malloori as Sabari, AGR's business manager
 Obeli N. Krishna as CM Vaazhai Karunakaran
 Redin Kingsley as Kuttapare, AGR's henchman
 Gajaraj as Father Thomas
 Manushyaputhiran as Nesakaram Trust Owner
 Kannan Ponnaiyah as Pistol, Guna's assistant
 Vettai Muthukumar as Kareem Bhai
 Namo Narayana as Mullai Venthan
 Sendrayan as Poongunran
 Ashvin Raja as Thangamani
 Soundararaja as Assistant Commissioner Inban
 Abhishek Vinod as Kota Rao
 Lakshmi Priya as Pooja
 Dheeraj as Dheeraj
 Mona Kakade as Naanjilar Gunasekharan’s wife
 Harshitha as Aaradhana
 Dindigul Dhanam as Pandiyamma
 M. S. Raaja Rajeshwaran as Protester
 Sayyeshaa as a dancer (cameo appearance for the "Raawadi" song)

Production

Development 
The film was launched in June 2019 with Narthan, who directed Mufti (2017), as the director. Silambarasan and Gautham Karthik were announced to star in the film. After a delay in the film's shooting due to Silambarasan not showing up to the sets, media outlets started reporting that the film was dropped in October 2019. Narthan later opted out and was replaced by Obeli N. Krishna, who previously directed films like Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (2006) and Nedunchaalai (2014). After Krishna entered the project, the film's writing was reworked to include more characters and a modified storyline. Silambarasan, who was simultaneously shooting for Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu, was reported to join the film's sets again. The scenes involving Silambarasan had to be reshot because of his weight transformation post-Eeswaran (2021). The title Pathu Thala was announced on 24 December 2020.

Filming 
Principal photography began in August 2021. The second schedule was postponed so many times, the shooting resumed in July 2022.  Major portions of Silambarasan were shot near Bellary Palace in the Mysore district in Karnataka. In October 2022, it was reported that the Karnataka schedule of the film was wrapped. The third schedule of the film began in Chennai on 13 August 2022 with Gautham Karthik joining the sets. The final schedule of the film was reported to begin in July and was reported to complete in August 2022. On 23 November 2022, the entire shooting of the film was wrapped. Despite the film's three year delay, Silambarasan said that "he was determined that I should finish this film for Gautham Karthik's sake".

Post-production 
The post-production works began in December 2022. Gautham Karthik and Priya Bhavani Shankar completed dubbing for their portions on 22 December 2022 and 3 January 2023, respectively.

Music 
The music of the film is composed by A. R. Rahman which marks his second collaboration with the director after Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and fifth film to feature actor Silambarasan after Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (2016), Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018) and Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu (2022). The first single titled "Namma Satham" was released on 3 February 2023 coinciding with Silambarasan’s birthday. The second single titled 'Ninaivirukka' was released on 13 March 2023. The entire soundtrack was released on 18 March 2023, with an additional song, titled ‘Osarattum Pathu Thala’, releasing on 27 March.

Release

Theatrical 
The film was released theatrically on 30 March 2023. Initially the film was scheduled to be released theatrically on 14 December 2022, but the film's release was postponed.

Home media 
The post-theatrical streaming and satellite rights of the film were acquired by Amazon Prime Video and Zee Tamil. The film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 27 April 2023.

Reception

Box office 
The film grossed over  crores worldwide after three days of its release. After the sixth day of its release the film grossed  crores worldwide. Its closing worldwide collection stands at  crore.

Critical response 

Pathu Thala received positive reviews from critics.

Logesh Balachandran of The Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "Pathu Thala may not be a great film for those who have watched the original, but it's still worth watching for the lead actors and some standout moments." Janani K of India Today gave the film 2.5 out of 5 and wrote "Pathu Thala could have been an intriguing gangster drama if only it had done away with predictable elements."

Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "It is unfair to compare Mufti and Pathu Thala; however, this remake is a good case study of how it isn’t enough to infuse more novelty on paper if the same doesn’t translate to the screen." Bharathy Singaravel of The News Minute gave the film 1.5 out of 5 and wrote "The film has a few formulaic moments that aspire to that description, but director Obeli N Krishna fails to pull together a cohesive story. Even AR Rahman's music does not elevate this film which cannot boast of a single memorable song."

References

External links 
 

2020s Tamil-language films
2023 action thriller films
2023 films
Films scored by A. R. Rahman
Films shot in Chennai
Films shot in Karnataka
Indian action thriller films
Indian neo-noir films
Tamil remakes of Kannada films