‘Retta Thala’ movie review: Even two Arun Vijays can’t save this lifeless thriller

Early on in Retta Thala , the protagonist Kaali ( Arun Vijay ) recounts how he grew up as an orphan in extreme poverty on the streets of Pondicherry and how it was a fellow destitute named Anthre who saved his life, becoming his family and giving him some semblance of purpose in life. Years later, Kaali travels to Pondicherry and reconnects with Anthre (Siddhi Idnani), now a waitress at a cafe, and proposes to marry her. But Anthre declines: “Neither are you rich, nor am I. And if we get married and if we can’t afford even a couple of meals, my love for you would begin to fade. I don’t wish for that to happen,” she says. A heartbroken Kaali roams around the town, which is when he inadvertently bumps into Malpe Upendra (Arun in a dual role), who looks just like him, but a more stylish and richer version. When Anthre comes to know of this, she plots a scheme that she urges Kaali to consider - what if Kaali kills his lookalike and assumes his identity? This is what sets out the rest of this Kris Thirukumaran-directed thriller. Siddhi Idnani and Arun Vijay in a still from ‘Retta Thala’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Now, on paper, this setup tells you a lot about why an action aficionado like Arun Vijay saw value in pursuing it; it’s an archetypal double-action thriller storyline that could still fire with a suitable screenplay and treatment. Kaali and Upendra are two men from extremely different walks of life, and the subsequent reveals about their backstories make you dream of a solid, adrenaline-rushing Billa redux. Unfortunately, Retta Thala is anything but that. The aforementioned early stretch exposes the biggest flaw in its structure and plummets Retta Thala down its own barrel. The story takes such extreme tangents that it leaves gaping plot holes in between. Even if we were to ignore how neither Kaali nor Anthre look like people who can’t afford a decent livelihood, the setup loses all its meaning the moment the screenplay lays bare all its cards in the end. Why must Kaali even give Anthre’s plan any thought? Why are men as sophisticated, talented and well-connected as Kaali and Upendra act so naively on impulse that they don’t see the immediate, obvious repercussions to their actions? We never know. Retta Thala (Tamil) Director : Kris Thirukumaran Runtime : 113 minutes Cast : Arun Vijay, Siddhi Idnani, John Vijay, Hareesh Peradi Storyline : A poor man’s life takes a drastic turn when he meets a rich doppelganger with a criminal past In fact, if the Billa formula taught anything, such a double-action plotting needed a less serious treatment, possibly for the more timid of the two. However, Retta Thala takes the Kaali-Anthre relationship way too seriously, but the emotional heft needed just isn’t there. One can imagine Anthre’s experiences on the streets to have made her prioritise a life of comfort above impractical notions like love, but the...

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