Tik Tik Tik

Plot synopsis:
Sherley (Sarika) is a model who returns to Chennai after a modeling stint abroad. She is received by the modeling agency and is soon drugged and operated upon. Her dead body is soon found.
Dileep (Kamal Haasan) is a photographer working for a newspaper run by Lakshmi Narayanan (Thengai Srinivasan). He is a photographer in a beauty pageant run by a rich industrialist, Oberoi (Shamasundar L. Asrani), which was won by Sharadha, Swapna and Radha (Madhavi, Radha and Swapna). He becomes professionally involved with Radha and Swapna while romantically involved with Sharadha. Soon Swapna’s deadbody turns up and he becomes the main suspect in the murder investigation and is on the run from police. As his face is plastered in wanted ads all over the city and police watching Sharadha’s house, he goes to meet Radha.
Radha, who always considered Dileep as her brother as he was always nice to her, helps him and lets him stay in her apartment. The next morning, when Dileep wakes up and turn on the tap, the water is bloody red and he hears screaming coming from the apartment water tank. He goes to investigate when a group of people are gathered around the tank and is shocked to find Radha’s bloody body inside the tank. Soon people recognize him from the wanted ad and mistakenly think that he murdered Radha. He is once again on the run from police for the murders.
He starts to investigate the murders and deduce that the only thing the two girls had in common, apart from him, was the modeling agency. When he secretively meets up with Sharadha, he finds a small incision on her body. Remembering that the other two girls had the same incision, he questions her. Although she doesn’t remember how she got it, she remembers that she didn’t have one before she left on a photo shoot abroad for the agency. She also finds it strange that she was unconscious for a few hours during the shoot but cannot remember what happened.
They eventually find out that Oberoi, has a nefarious business through his modeling agency. He drugs the models during the photo shoot abroad, operates them and smuggles diamonds into India using their bodies. When the models return to India, they again drug the model and take it out and kill the girl.
Dileep gets captured by Oberoi’s goons but with the help of his editor and his girlfriend, he has already got the truth out. Before Oberoi can kill Dileep, they hear the police siren coming towards him. Oberoi, an obsessive diamond collector, rather than get caught and go to prison, eats his own diamonds and commits suicide.

Tags: murder

Review:
Enjoyable. A thriller that was ahead of its time, it rides on K Bhagyaraj's screeplay writing skills. A tale of one lensman, three models, one villain and a few diamonds. Some memorable songs from Ilayaraja. Worth a watch.. Tik Tik Tik. Really nice movie.. Amazing Thriller with good Glamour. One of the best movies of Dir. Bharathiraja.Isaignani Illayaraja's BGM and songs are too good. A haunting beat comes up in every murder sequence.Therye first murder scene 
will be very interesting and captures the entire audience. Kamalhasan would have under played and represents the best romantic moments with Madhavi.
The last 1 hour will be a seat edge thriller with chases and stunts.A fight scene inside a dark room will be nice.
Entire movie is filled with enough glamour since the story revolves around Models, However it will be suitable for the screenplay.
Really worth for the Music and Direction. The movie was a Super hit.. Madcap crime thriller with Haasan at the top of his game. A bevy of glamorous models are bumped off one by one in in a diamond smuggling operation masterminded by the dastardly (but amusingly and probably ironically named) Oberoi. Part suspense crime thriller, part madcap action vehicle for Kamal Haasan as professional photographer Dilip who has been framed for the murder of the girls and is a fugitive on the run out to prove his innocence. With Oberoi played like a reserved yet partially demented Dr. Evil (from the Austin Powers franchise- years before the Austin Powers films were even conceived) coupled with almost schizophrenic scene changes, Tik! Tik! Tik! is probably as much fun today as the year it was released. The star of the show is undoubtedly Haasan who is completely in his element in this kind of film. Apparently ahead of its time plot-wise back in 1981, I managed to see a high quality Malaysian DVD pressing with English subtitles and perfectly mixed audio which brought out both the (then) clever 'ticking' sound effects interspersed throughout the film and also Ilaiyaraaja's excellent songs-- Poo Malarinthida's note perfect mix of classical and modern pop elements show why he was and probably still is miles ahead of any other music director. Tik! Tik! Tik! is a perfect reminder of a time when big starers didn't need to rely on endless fight scenes, pointless special effects and soul-less choreographed item numbers. A clever plot yet the overall simplicity of this film is what makes it.