Shanmugham (Jeevan) comes to Chennai with his mother in search of his father (Raj Kapoor). When they get to the place, they see him living with another wife. In a hussle, he kills this old wife and sends this boy outside to beg. He comes out with dead mother and an auto driver (Chandrasekar) helps with all he has to cremate the body and gives some money and asks him to go back to his own city. Shanmugham wanted to read and become a great man. But he gets caught with the corrupt police guys and was used for their jobs (which involved murder). So when he grows up, he becomes a big rowdy by the name of Thotta (bullet).
Acting
Jeevan's descent from hopeful boy to hollow killer
Direction
Selva's relentless punishment of his protagonist
Writing
Every authority figure is literally the worst
Director
Selva
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Thotta fits the 2000s Tamil 'tragic rowdy' template alongside Pudhupettai and Paruthiveeran — rural ambition crushed by urban corruption.
Director Selva reportedly cast Jeevan specifically to subvert his earlier soft romantic image from films like Kaadhal.
IN
