Thoofan Movie Review

ACP Vijay Khanna is an honest and aggressive cop. He is also a very angry young man. His upright nature is rewarded with a record number of transfers, but Vijay never changes his attitude. After an altercation with some ruling party members in Hyderabad ,he is transferred to Mumbai.

Vijay is tasked with the investigation of the violent murder of a deputy collector. He soon realises that a powerful oil mafia is behind the crime. An NRI named Maya (Priyanka Chopra) is the only witness and Vijay seeks her help. As the investigation deepens, Vijay realises that the very wealthy Rudra Pratap Teja (Prakash Raj) is the man behind the entire criminal operation.

As Vijay inches closer to the truth, Teja uses all his money and influence to get Vijay suspended. A defiant and angry Vijay vows to destroy Teja and his empire. What follows next is a revenge drama where Vijay takes the help of the mercurial Sher Khan (Sri Hari) and an honest crime reporter named Jay Dev (Tanikella Bharani) to bring Teja down.

Ram Charan has delivered yet another power packed performance. He looks good as a cop and he has fit into the character of ACP Vijay Khanna quite seamlessly. This movie will be a pretty good debut vehicle for Charan’s Bollywood career.

Priyanka Chopra is ok. She looks pretty hot in the ‘Mumbai Ke Hero’ and ‘Pinky’ songs. Sri Hari is effective as Sher Khan. Tanikella Bharani has given a dignified performance as the courageous crime reporter.

Prajash Raj is very cool as the mafia Don Teja. He is well supported by Mahie Gill, who appears as Mona. Their conversations are filled with ‘double meaning’ dialogues that might work with B and C center people.

The pace of the film is good. The short run-time is an asset. Mahie Gill sizzles in a song which plays out during the opening titles, just like in James Bond films.

When compared to the original ‘Zanjeer’, this movie fizzles out in terms of story and screenplay. The plot is quite superficial and predictable. The romantic episodes between Charan and Priyanka Chopra could have been a lot better.

In the original film, the bond between Amitabh Bachchan and Pran is established quite brilliantly. That is not the case with this present day Zanjeer. The friendship between Charan and Sri Hari lacks emotional depth.

The placement of songs is quite bad, especially the ‘Mumbai ke Hero’ song. This is not a Telugu movie and Charan’s traditional fans will miss the mass masala entertainment that is normally found in the star’s films. Comedy quotient is also quite low.

Gururaj’s cinematography is just about ok. Editing is not up to the mark. Except for one or two sequences, re-recording is strictly average. A more capable music director would have really helped the film. Telugu dialogues are just about ok.

Apoorva Lakhia has succeeded in maintaining good pace throughout the film. But he should have infused more humour and entertainment into the proceedings. He scores passing marks as a director.

Do not compare this movie with the original classic(Amitabh’s Zanjeer). They are two very different movies. Charan has given a power packed performance and the film has its moments. A crisp runtime also helps matters. A better script and a higher dose of entertainment would have really helped matters. Still, the movie ends up as a decent cop drama.