Bommalattam - we are the puppets

Are you a fan of the novel of mystery? I am, and that's why Bommalattam disappoints. From the days of Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes, to the queen of crime's Poirot and Marple, to our very own Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda, a good mystery yarn has been rooted deeply in two important rules: (i) the plot must be watertight, and (ii) all the facts must be presented before the solution is outed.

Let us look at the first rule. There can be no obvious loose strings if your plot is to make sense. Usually, it is the case of committing a murder, or setting up a red herring, or creating an alibi, or some such, and in these cases, if there are glaring errors such as (i) impracticality, (ii) physical impossibility, (iii) uncharacteristic actions of the principal(s) or (iv) irregularities, then there is a leak somewhere, and on closer inspection, the reader feels let down.

Consider for example the following scenario - Mr. X needs to establish an alibi for his activities on the night of the murder. He thus claims that he was in Bangalore during the event. However, it later transpires that he purchased an airline ticket from Chennai to Bangalore at 6:43pm, boarded the flight at 6:45pm and landed at Bangalore at 7:08pm. He then proceeded to his office in Whitefield and was seen by the guard there at 7:30pm. Now, unless there is a prepped and ready rocket jet waiting to take him to Bangalore, and there is a super expressway linking the airport which is someway off to his office, this falls outside the realm of Physics. If later, the claim is made that the alibi is false, everything is "oojah cum spiff." But, if the author claims this alibi is true, then the reader is unaware of some new warp technology for sure.

Now, the second point - a good mystery is one in which everyone including the reader has an opportunity to think objectively about what has happened and arrive at a conclusion. If we are smart, we may hit the correct sequence of events, and guess the psychological tapestry to a nicety. The prowess of the author is then to show us that he or she is more devious than we are. For instance, A, B and C are in a room, and C has been murdered. So, the logical conclusion should be that either of A or B have committed the crime. But, if at the end, the author reveals a person D out of the blue who actually did it, then its no longer a whodunit, but a whatthehellisthis?

Unfortunately for Bommalattam, the movie fails on both counts. Without revealing too much of the plot, suffice it to say that impracticality, time dilation, new character introduction and physical impossibility have all been used in this movie.

But, I would have been willing to accept these major story faults, provided the direction and editing were top notch. Sadly, the movie fails to impress here too. The criminal investigation carried out by Arjun seems to be haphazard, and lacking in order and method. The investigative process is not at all showcased, and results seemingly appear out of thin air. Another way of looking at it is that this is a case where the investigator has a surmise, but he lacks solid evidence to prove it, and is forced to use unconventional methods. However, if this were the case, it is not portrayed logically. Sequence seems to be lacking.


While there is a surfeit of suspense, and the finger points to all the principals at one point or another, there seems to be a lack of interest in exploiting this element. For instance, I suspected Arjun himself at one time, but the motivation for him is built up in a single scene and then forgotten.

The psyche of the director and the heroine of the movie within the movie is delved into deeply, and clearly, it is Bharathirajaa's desire to make this the story's centerpiece. But this relationship is given to us not from the perspective of the principals, which would have been a position of strength, but as a series of conjectures and surmises by the bit players around them. This makes the whole endeavor seem a bit artificial.

But I will take my hat off for the plot twist at the end though. It is completely unexpected and new to Tamil cinema. But, for a mystery relying so heavily on the climax, this could have been integrated into the story in a different manner at a much earlier stage. Revealing more of what I have in mind would be telling all. Ask me in private if you want to know what I think!

And a bit about the editing. The movie moves so slowly in places, especially during the bits about the movie shooting, and the interrogation sequences, that you can cut the silence with a knife. This tends to ease the tension and loosen the grip in places where it is needed most. And whatever happened to the lip sync and the dubbing I will never be able to say. It was like watching a Hindi movie dubbed into Tamil. Totally unprofessional sums it up.


As for the acting, a weak rendition by Nizhalgal Ravi takes the intensity away from Nana Patekar's acting. Lackadaisical performances from Vivek, the heroines, and Arjun seem to indicate that the director has put his entire weight behind the story and has lost it everywhere else. The music, as is the usual Himesh Reshamiya fare, is nothing to write home about, although the BGM's were quite impressive, especially during the investigation sequences.

The puppet master is able to make dolls dance to his tune. Sadly here, although it is clear in the end who the real puppet is (which is a bit of an unexpected shock really), the audience have been made the puppets by being kept in the dark, and by having their intelligence assumed to be sub-par. In all, therefore, Bommalattam fails to impress and really has too many glaring flaws for it to be a good mystery yarn.

By the way, the reason this review may seem cryptic is because I don't want to reveal anything. After a decent amount of time has passed (once the movie has run its course), I will explain each aspect in an addendum.