The first time coming together of intense filmmaker Mysskin and the hard working Vishal in the detective thriller ‘Thupparivaalan’ has drummed up enough curiosity among viewers who expect a cerebral edge of the seat fare. Does the film deliver its promise remains to be seen.

Kaniyan Poongundran (Vishal) is the very Tamil, Sherlock Holmes, who runs a detective agency with, Manohar (Prasanna as Dr. Watson) in tow. A school boy brings the case of his Pomeranian dog killed by a bullet which leads the detectives on the trail of a gang of high tech assassins headed by Holcha (Vinay). There is a subplot involving a pickpocket Mallika (Anu Emanuel) who turns over a new leaf for the hero and also aids him in his mission at a crucial juncture. What happens next is told with long drawn out scenes and ends in a gory climax.

Vishal's Kaniyan Poongundran has obviously been molded on Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of the famed fictional director (There is a tribute in the opening credits to the actor as well as Sir Arthur Conon Doyle). But his hurried gait and snapping dialogue delivery are signature Mysskin. There is one beautifully choreographed Kungfu fight in a restaurant which provides enough fodder for Vishal’s pyrotechnic skills and in the climactic action too he is very much in his elements. Prasanna is the perfect foil for Vishal as perplexed as the audience at the behavior of his boss but puts in a subtle performance. Vinay is aptly cast as the cold blooded killer who has time to enjoy his coffee while he shreds a corpse with an electric saw or cuts open a young girl’s stomach to bleed her to death. Anu Emmanuel makes an impressive Tamil debut,is pretty to the eyes and scores well in her character’s last scene. Andrea as a ruthless gang member shows that she is quite adept at action. K.Bhagyaraj as one of the villains is reminiscent of his protege Pandiarajan in Mysskin’s ‘Anjathey’ and in fact there is another ‘Anjathey’ shaded character - the baldie. Nothing to write home about the rest of the cast.

The big plusses of ‘Thupparivaalan’ are the beautiful visuals, attention to details, the symphony styled background score, impeccable art direction and well choreographed stunts. The scene in which Bhagyaraj smothers his wife with a pillow and Anu Emmanuel’s last moments are touching.

On the downside which is quite steep, ‘Thupparivaalan’ lacks a plausible story which an average Tamil movie goer can relate to and the characters are all Mysskin with the all too familiar quirkiness. The villain gang are mere caricatures lacking any depth in their characterizations to make them interesting beyond a point. The theater erupts into laughter as the assistant police commissioner and the entire police force take Vishal’s orders. The screenplay is also flat as the audiences are blindly led by Vishal’s character who builds up his case even to the extent of revealing the villain’s background through dialogue. There are no flashes of brilliance and usually detective stories work only when the audiences are in on the story and can fill up the blanks to a certain extent. The pacing is painfully slow when there is scope for it to be much racier to hold the interest throughout.

'Thupparivaalan' is a visual treat as cinematographer Karthick Venkatraman’s lighting and subjective camera movements work well for the script. Some of the tension is created by the lingering camera or a nervous offs creen pan. Arrol Corroli's symphonic background score with the violin dominating is another highlight and his songs too pass muster. The editing is smooth and has the very distinct Mysskin flow. Mysskin has once again come up with a heavily inspired work which is more on the lines of 'Mugamoodi' than 'Yutham Sei' or even 'Pisaasu'.

Verdict : Go for it as the film will satisfy both Vishal and Mysskin fans