When Rayappan wants his son Michael to play football, it is not just because he wants him to stay away from his world of crime, but because he doesn’t want to repeat his father’s mistakes. “16 vayasula kaththiya kuduthitan,” Rayappan tells Michael in a warm moment with his son.
Apart from putting aside the most stylish action moments in the film for its flashback, Atlee also reserves the most chilling villains for this part. These scenes tell us the origins of the most snarkiest villains— if Mahendran plays Vijay’s dirty game to win over him in Theri, SJ Suryah’s doctor plots to bring the hero down, playing on a simpleton’s naivete. This is where regular characters are forced to become superheroes and this is also where the villains are in their meanest best.
Dialogues, Deaths and Defining Moments
Deaths too are an inevitable part of Atlee’s films. On the surface, his pattern of having an emotionally high impact death in the flashback could be considered a cliche. But Atlee picks the final moments of a character, which is also the last few minutes of the flashback, to build an entirely new life for the protagonists. The final wish is crucial in an Atlee film. Take Theri for instance, which sees Mithra tell Vijay her dreams for her family just before being killed. Fast forward to the present, Vijay and their daughter lead the exact same life, that Mithra wanted for them.
Who can forget the line “Cuppu Mukkiyam Bigilu?” These are also Rayappan’s last words before he gets stabbed, shattering his dreams. In an earlier scene, Rayappan says, “Our identity is going to change only because of your game.” We see this come true, even if Michael doesn’t end up becoming a player. The post-climax sequence where Michael’s enemy enrols his son in his football coaching centre is a superbly staged echo of Rayappan’s words.