SonyLIV’s Tamilrockerz Is Uneven And A Tad Frustrating, But Also Super Difficult To Stop Watching

Director: Arivazhagan

Cast: Arun Vijay, Vani Bhojan, Ishwarya Menon, Azhagam Perumal, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan

Streaming On: SonyLIV

It doesn't take more than five minutes to get hooked onto Arivazhagan's Tamilrockerz — the third Tamil mini-series this year after Vilangu and Suzhal to hit you with its bingeability. Starting at the early morning fan's show of a big star film, a burglary takes place with the film's footage getting smuggled out of the office and onto the internet. The posters, the name of this fictional star, shots of the screen, and the conversations around, suggest a connection to a real-life star that's intentionally obvious. The sequence ends with the film's producer committing suicide, but the stakes are much bigger when another star's film is set to release within a week, a bigger one too that's made at a budget of over Rs 300 crore. 

The eight-episode investigative thriller follows the week running up to the release of this film Garuda, featuring 'Athiradi Star' Aditya. With Tamilrockerz threatening to upload this film a day before its release, the series is structured like a race against time with a team of cops chasing this faceless group of hackers. On the surface, it might sound too alien a conflict when you're expected to sympathise with the producer of a 300-crore film and its millionaire superstar. What makes it even harder to commit is how neither star nor producer is shown to be angels who've come to resurrect Tamil cinema. They are opportunists, trying to cash in on fame and sell movies as though they are commodities (like "onions", a director describes). Yet the show remains largely "unputdownable" because it's steeped in real-life references and incidents that are just too juicy to ignore. 

Watching the murky side of the business offers guilty pleasures that's a lot like listening to a trusted insider spilling gossip. But what makes Tamilrockerz engaging is that it offers a little more with characters that have depth and a tight screenplay. An example of this is how it repurposes the common logic of each episode ending with a cliffhanger. Most episodes end with a cliffhanger in Tamilrockerz too but it can also surprisingly perceptive, like when we get one long take featuring MS Bhaskar as a failed film producer. Not only does this character give emotional backstory to one of the police officers, but it also reveals the other side of the business, back when it was run by people who simply loved cinema. It's in such moments that the show rises above its metaness to give us the hard truth about the people that fall by the side. 

What takes care of the rest is the screenplay. Told in a non-linear pattern, the show is strongest when it focuses solely on the investigation. The writers are able to make use of the longer format to avoid cliches of the feature film. Take for instance the way the show focusses on the backstory of the bad guys as they do with the heroes. This means that the motivations of the villains too are justified early on and we don't have to wait until the last hour to get an explanation. This gives us the feeling that even the bad guys have a valid point to make and have a revenge motive of their own, making the clash between good and bad even more exciting.  

Yet in other segments, the show can also be frustrating. Even after so many cop thrillers and so many films, you wonder why writers cannot come up with better things to do with the lead officer's wife. You understand the need for the hero to have a personal investment and a motivation to give his all, but isn't there another way to create that feeling? Like Arivazhagan himself did in his earlier film Kuttram 23 (Arun Vijay too feels familiar as the cop), the romantic angle early on is done in such an obvious manner that you just want the film to get to the point quickly so that the real movie can begin. 

You also find a similar level of irritation with the way certain bits of information are dumped on you. What happened to an officer's wife is explained in one long dialogue and it's clear this information is for the viewers rather than the other character in the scene. Some of the dialogues also feel artificial, especially the way it has been written for the fanboy characters. They appear loud and caricature-like as though it's meant to cater to an absurd image of a fanboy. All of this is understandable when you make a film that is expected to reach every town and village within the theatre model. But given that the show was originally conceived for the web, there's no need for so much exposition and such loud performances anymore. 

But even with these dated ideas early on in the show, Tamilrockerz is still capable of springing a surprise every half hour or so. With so many strands and so many characters at play, there's never an obvious outcome you could have predicted. It also does a great job of using a complex, technological conflict, giving it the quality of a regular movie. With its mix of convincing twists and a load of gossipy fun, Tamilrockerz is an engaging series that feels like it was just an hour long.