Thodra review: This honour-killing drama has its morals tied up in knots

Madhu Raj's Thodra is a film that cannot be ignored in Tamil cinema, simply because of the manner in which it deals with the sensitive issue of honour killing, which still prevails in parts of the state.

The film takes a stand that is quite confusing. And a state of confusion while dealing with such a sensitive subject can be dangerous.

Shankar (Prithvi Rajan) is a collegian who also works as a newspaper deliveryman to support his family comprising a mother and a sister. He falls in love with Divya (Veena), daughter of Muthuvel (Gajaraj), a rich politician whose son Pounraj (MS Kumaran) is also into politics.

Divya is pampered by her father and her brother. The father and son are members of a caste-based party which owes its existence to the support of one particular caste. Therefore, they are strictly against inter-caste marriages.

However, over time, Divya begins to reciprocate Shankar's feelings. At one point, the lovers decide to marry. Learning of Divya's intentions, her father and brother impose restrictions upon her. With no option left, the lovers elope.

Unable to bear the shock of his daughter eloping with a man from another community, Muthuvel dies. His father's death infuriates Pounraj, who is humiliated in society and in the party by his sister's actions.

Director Madhu Raj has created his story by combining elements from two major honour killing incidents that shocked Tamil Nadu and the country a few years ago. The first case was the Divya-Ilavarasan case from Dharmapuri. Ilavarasan's body was found on a culvert, near the railway track in Dharmapuri. While police dismissed it as a suicide, the young man's family alleged foul play by upper-caste groups.

The second incident used by the director is the Kausalya-Shankar case from Udumalpet in Tamil Nadu. This was a sensational case in which a group of murderers attacked the couple in a marketplace in daylight. The killers arrived on two-wheelers, hacked Shankar to death in the presence of scores of people who were too stunned to react, and fled. The case became a national sensation after CCTV footage of the attack was made available to news channels which repeatedly broadcast the video.

In both cases, the young men were Dalits and were said to have been killed by those from the upper castes.

The director has come up with an imaginary tale inspired predominantly by these two incidents. However, the manner in which he narrates his story makes you wonder if his sympathies lie more with the upper-caste families than with those who were brutally killed.

For instance, director A Venkatesh plays an aspiring politician who is shown hiring young men from one community in the film. He asks them to 'pick' up girls and 'make them' fall in love with them. He pays them Rs10,000 each for the task.

Venkatesh's politician is also shown instructing the men to make sure they only pick girls from the upper castes. He himself is portrayed as a womanizer who wants to exploit Divya and a conman who wants to make money by demanding ransom for her from her family.

Madhu Raj, in fact, appears to be taking potshots at parties and organizations that have been fighting for the Dalits and advocating inter-caste marriages. Though his film pretends to be against casteism and honour killings, the manner in which the story is told makes one suspect that the director's sympathies lie with those who get the hero killed.

The emphasis is on how the family loves Divya dearly until she falls in love with Shankar, and the sufferings her rich, upper-caste family members have to undergo once she elopes.

The family is also shown as ready to forgive Divya and accept her if she would only abandon her lover. Finally, the killing of the hero is made to look like a step necessitated by the actions of his supporters.

The film has decent performances from the lead pair of Prithvi Rajan, son of actor Pandiarajan, and Veena, a newcomer. The music by RN Uthamaraja is just about okay while the cinematography by Senthil Kumar is decent.

Madhu Raj may like to believe that he has presented the postives and negatives of both sides in the conflict. But he has only showcased himself as one whose solidarity lies with the upper castes.