“Rajapattai” (2011) is a commercial Kollywood masala movie directed by Suseenthiran based on a story by Seenu Vasan. Starring South Indian superstars Vikram and Deeksha Seth, the film is about a gym trainer who aspires to be a film villain but ends up battling actual villains to save an old man and his orphanage.
Anal Murugan is no ordinary gym trainer. He aspires to become a popular villain in Tamil cinema. He lives at home with his trainer, Shanmugham, and other gymmates. His run-in with a local episode interests the downtrodden and wronged; one day he runs into an old man, Dakshinamoorthy, who is being tortured by his own son, Chidambaram. In it, the son of a widowed father is attempting to forcibly sell their family-operated orphanage to a corrupt politician named Ranganayaki. Murugan rescues Dakshinamoorthy and vows to shield him from the nefarious scheming of Ranganayaki and her henchmen, including the treacherous Abdul Kadhir, aka Vaappa.
During the protection of Dakshinamoorthy, Murugan meets and falls in love with Dharshini. As dangers mount, Murugan holds firm and employs all of his intellect and muscle to dismantle Ranganayaki’s criminal land-snatching syndicate. In doing so, he defends against multiple attacks, eventually revealing Ranganayaki’s true face to the citizenry. Ultimately, justice prevails, the orphanage is rescued, and Murugan realizes his ambition of becoming a hero in real life, after initially setting out to become a villain in the film.
“Rajapattai” provides the usual commercial mix of action, romance, and comedy. It’s the movie’s pace, its editing, and its upbeat tone that set the film apart, with Vikram keeping the whole film together with such energy, style, and charisma. Even though the story is by the numbers and the lines are corny, the quick pace and wide appeal of the film make the whole thing a blast. While the fight scenes and multi-genre songs are made for general audiences, the land-grabbing message makes it all the more heavy-hitting.