Dharmadurai

8/22/2016

The opening minutes of Dharmadurai bring to mind Seenuramasamy's previous released film Neerparavai (the film that he shot after that, Idam Porul Yeval, is still lying in the cans and even gets referenced here). Like the hero of that film, the protagonist of this one, too, is an alcoholic. The first time we see Dharmadurai (Vijay Sethupathi, solid), he is at a local bar, and the director shows us how his oafish behaviour is a constant source of embarrassment to his brothers (each one named after the Pandavas of the Mahabharata), who even plot to harm him grievously to stop him from maligning them further. His mother, Pandiyammal (Radikaa), is the only one who stands up for him, and we get the sense that there is some reason behind Dharmadurai's alcoholism. But the director holds on to t