The treatment of crime and delinquency may seem predictable, but not quite how it was envisioned, Divya Nair discovers.

Approximately 35 minutes into the film, after two young women are found murdered under similar circumstances, a senior CBI official takes an enthusiastic police officer to the scene and asks him to explain what he knows about the crimes so far.

The newly minted gold medalist trainee confidently blurts out obvious information when the supervising officer interrupts him and says, “In certain cases, you need to know things beyond physical evidence — like the killer’s mindset, his anger, his lusts.” , Fetishes, etc. To better understand and identify the killer, you need to thoroughly investigate him based on his crime so that you can easily identify him in a crowd.

This skillfully written scene and the details of the conversation between two ideologically different characters who are forced to work together because of a common mission make the film stand out By Thozhil out of the ordinary detective stories we’ve seen lately.

the title of the movie, By Thozhil (meaning the art of war), probably inspired by the idea of ​​the Tamil poet Bharathiyar Porthozhil Pazhagu (Learn the Art of War) is an apt choice for this crime thriller, in which two cops race against time to stop a seemingly intelligent serial killer from claiming his next victim, while simultaneously learning and unlearning each other’s rules.

Directed by debutante Vighnesh Raja, the Tamil thriller stars R Sarathkumar, Ashok Selvan and Nikhila Vimal as special police officers leading a CBI investigation into serial killings.

The writing style is tight combined with an intriguing screenplay that captures your imagination and comfortably flows into your imagination of how the film should proceed.

There’s a bit of dread, fear, shock and awe in the scenes leading up to the crime, making it a one-of-a-kind experience.

With the exception of the killer, who we’re often reminded of, he’s brilliant at his job, the rest of the characters are deliberately flawed.

Sarathkumar plays SP Lokanathan, an arrogant, veteran police officer with temper problems and zero social skills.

The only person to challenge him is Prakash (Ashok Selvan), who is confident in his own abilities and calmly deals with anxiety issues.

With a brutal, skilled killer on the loose, how can you expect these two men to catch up?

Then comes the twist.

One after the other.

Overall, the course and treatment of the crime and criminal may seem predictable, but not quite in the way you envisioned.

And that’s where the brilliance of this rather potential film ends.

Once the twist is revealed, it doesn’t reach another climax. It crashes.

The creators did invest a lot of time in outlining the backstory of the crime, hoping to inspire some empathy, at the risk of sounding underwhelming. It takes no moral stance to feel sorry for the victims or the circumstances that led to the crime.

But what I really liked about the film is the creators’ intent, which is beautifully summed up in the climax.

In the final scene, after solving his first case, Prakash watches as a neighbor’s child leaves his house because he cannot bear to see his parents abusing each other.

What he does next might seem like a simple thing, but it leaves behind a powerful message that can change multiple lives.

By Thozhil is a gripping thriller that has the potential to serve as a prequel to another bumpy but intriguing series of serial killers.

By Thozhil Review Rediff Rating: