Pathu Thala is a film written and directed by Obeli N Krishna, and bankrolled by KE Gnanavel Raja and Jayantilal Gada under the banners Studio Green and Pen Studios respectively. The film has Silambarasan TR, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Gautham Karthik in the lead roles while the supporting cast is filled with talents like Gautham Vasudev Menon, Anu Sithara, Kalaiyarasan, Teejay Arunasalam, Santhosh Prathap and Redin Kingsley. The music is composed by AR Rahman and the cinematography is handled by Farook J Basha.

AGR (Silambarasan TR) is the head of an extremely powerful gang that is as influential as deciding every single move in Tamil Nadu politics. Meanwhile Guna (Gautham Karthik) is an important member of a gang in Vizag, and gets involved in shooting a police officer. He seeks refuge in AGR's camp and it is revealed that Guna is actually an undercover cop. Does Guna and the police manage to nab AGR? Why is AGR involved in all the crimes? These questions are what Pathu Thala is all about.

Pathu Thala is the official Tamil adaptation of the critically acclaimed Kannada film Mufti. It seems like director Obeli N Krishna has made changes to the screenplay. While it has been done before in Vikram, it is indeed a brave decision by STR, director Krishna and the team of writers to not show Simbu's face till the interval block. And that makes the first half very gripping because every moment makes you think - will this be the introduction for Simbu. And the reveal is also shot in a fantastic way.

When you talk about the drawbacks of the film, it is again the same screenplay. What worked in the first half, starts lagging in the second half. After the film ends, we still don't have the answer as to why STR wasn't revealed for the entire first half.

Simbu carries the entire film on his shoulders despite missing in action for half the runtime. His screen presence makes the fans scream till their throats dry, and his performance is a testament as to why his fans are loyal to him. Gautham Karthik is brilliant as Guna, and comes up with a restrained performance that requires a lot of underplay. Priya Bhavani Shankar 's role could have been written better as it looks inconsequential to the narrative.

Among the supporting cast, Gauthan Vasudev Menon is seen in another antagonist role and it feels like he's being typecast as a villain. But his performance convinces us to a great extent. Redin Kingsley and Teejay also offer a lot of meat to the film. Redin's counters are also on point and crack you up instantly. For example, when he is attacked by someone and bleeds, he retorts saying "Irunga da, raththam ethitu vandhu ungala adikaren".

Technically, AR Rahman's music supports the film so much. It's almost like the spine of the film. He gives the film everything when it comes to music. Farook Basha's visuals complement the film so well and his choice of colours needs to be appreciated.

Overall, Pathu Thala is an engaging action film with great stunt choreography and performances. It sets a certain bar in the music and cinematography and never goes below it. It does justice to the original story without going overboard at any place. Had the pacing of the second half, and the screenplay in general been a little better, this would have been a must watch film. Nevertheless, it is a good watch for the weekend.