Joshua Imai Pol Kaakha

“Joshua: Imai Pol Kaakha” is a Tamil action thriller by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The film stars Varun in the lead, Raahei, Dhivyadharshini, and Mansoor Ali Khan, and the story revolves around an ex-assassin turned bodyguard on a perilous quest to guard his ex-girlfriend.

“Joshua”, who is a retired assassin and employed by a private security firm, is recruited to guard “Kundhavi”, a New York attorney and his past girlfriend. She is the primary attorney to testify against El Chapo, a notorious Mexican drug cartel kingpin. Hired assassins are on her tail with a price on her head.

One evening, Joshua and his men repel an attack led by “Don Shiva and Koti”, Joshua's childhood friend. Although he manages to rescue her, Joshua gets hurt. Kundhavi is later kidnapped once more, but Joshua manages to rescue her and kills Shiva in the process. Koti, having conflicting feelings of friendship and greed, secretly tries to kill Kundhavi but ends up failing. Joshua forgives him because of their earlier connection.

The situation takes a shocking turn when Kundhavi’s father, “Chidambaram”, arrives, seemingly to take her to safety. But then Madhavi, Joshua's boss, discovers a foul fact: Chidambaram has a deal with El Chapo's narcotics syndicate and engineered the assaults on his own daughter. And when Kundhavi and Joshua get word that their faith was violated, they take their revenge. Joshua takes out Chidambaram's goons, and Kundhavi murders her father in self-defense.

Though “Joshua: Imai Pol Kaakha” packs some strong action moments, it falters when it comes to predictable plotting and an emotional depth required to take its characters somewhere. The action is slick, and the movie introduces a greater universe, but it doesn't quite succeed in leaving a deep impact as a thriller on its own.