Karuppan review: This bull tamer wins the audiences hands down!

R Paneerselvam, the director who gave the critically acclaimed Renigunta (2009), makes a strong comeback with this entertainer called Karuppan. The film, set in a rural backdrop, is primarily about the deep love and understanding between a husband and wife. 

Karuppan (Vijay Sethupathi), a happy-go-lucky youngster, is known for his bull taming skills. Once, while participating in Jallikattu (bull taming sport) tournament, he is goaded to capture a bull by one of the spectators, a big shot called Maayi (Pasupathy). Initially, Karuppan ignores the goading but his friends choose to take on Maayi, asking him if he will give his sister's hand in marriage to Karuppan, should he succeed in taming the Maayi bull. Maayi agrees and Karuppan succeeds.

Maayi's sister Anbu (Tanya), an educated and bold woman, is furious to learn that her brother promised to get her married to a bull tamer. However, she cools down after learning about Karuppan's good nature and chooses to honour Maayi's word as she knows her brother would have only wished the best for her. She weds Karuppan.  

Within hours of the wedding, Anbu wins Karuppan's heart by showing care and concern for his aged and ill mother. From there, the husband and wife get ready for a long and content relationship.

But then, not everybody is happy about the wedding. Maayi's brother-in-law Kathir (Bobby Simha) is heartbroken that Anbu, the girl he was secretly in love with for several years, has become another man's wife. He decides to claim Anbu as his own and begins working on ways to separate Anbu from Karuppan. Do his wicked and manipulative plans succeed? Karuppan gives the answer.

The film has an exceptionally good line up of quality actors, all of whom deliver strong performances.

Vijay Sethupathi, as always, lives up to expectations, delivering a delightful performance as the rough but kind youngster. Be it his dialogue delivery, his body language in action or romantic sequences, Sethupathi is just perfect. There is very little that one can complain about Sethupathi's performance.

Pasupathi, one of Tamil cinema's finest actors, comes up with a sterling performance. Pasupathi as Maayi appears tough and whimsical, but is careful about the decisions he makes, especially those pertaining to his sister, as he deeply cares for her. It's a difficult role but with his skills, the actor makes it look easy and natural.

Both Sethupathi and Pasupathy are excellent performers. Matching them step-for-step in this film are three other actors, whose skills haven't been recognized as much as so far. 

The first of these is the heroine of the film, Tanya, who plays Anbu. She simply steals your heart as the lovable Anbu, who controls her strong and powerful husband Karuppan with her love and affection. For an actress so young, matching an experienced actor like Sethupathi is quite a task, but Tanya does a brilliant job of it.

The next in line for praise is comedian D Singampuli, whose sequences with Sethupathi work big time. There is one particular sequence in a bar where Singampuli dances with Sethupathi to a number of songs. This is a highly enjoyable sequence. Normally, comedians dancing to popular songs isn't an enjoyable experience, but this one is remarkable because of the fantastic dance moves by Singampuli, who just steals the limelight with his grace and charm.

Bobby Simha as Kathir is very convincing in the film. Simha reminds us of how strong an actor he is with this finely tuned, elegant performance as a fiendishly clever, spurned lover intent on ruining the lives of even those whom he loves for his own selfish needs.

Director Paneerselvam must be credited for efficiently extracting excellent performances to make this film an entertaining watch. Although the film is on the lines of regular commercial films and is on a subject that has been dealt with at length in Tamil cinema, it still makes an interesting watch.

So, the verdict is that this Karuppan wins, hands down!