Thappu Thalangal

Infobox_Film
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director =K.Balachander
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starring = Rajnikanth, Saritha
producer = R.Venkataraman
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released = 1978
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language = Tamil
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imdb_id = 0155257

Thappu Thalangal ie. "Inaccurate Notes", is a Tamil film, directed by K.Balachander & produced by R.Venkataraman. It features Rajanikanth as Devu, a local thug whose weapon of choice is a bicycle chain he sports casually around the neck. Devu charges Rs.30 to slice a finger, Rs.300 to chop a hand, Rs.3000 for the leg, and ten times as much to dispose off the whole body. On one of his nightly rounds, Devu is pursued by a cop and seeks refuge at a whorehouse run by a hooker Sarasu, played to perfection by Saritha. Despite her vehement protests, he stays put and leaves only at daybreak, but her persistent cough stays with him. At a theatre, Devu watches an advertisement for Glycodin Cough Syrup and proceeds to buy her a bottle. Devu and Sarasu bond over the cough syrup and philosophize late into the night, exchanging notes on their immoral lifestyles. Devu's assault on a trade union leader delivering medicine to a critically ill worker leads to a mishap. Watching the wailings of the widow of the worker, Devu is traumatized and breaks down at Sarasu's place. In an inspired moment, he suggests they remap their lives and chart a moral course. Sarasu is attracted by the notion of giving up prostitution and leading a normal life as Devu's wife, though she wonders if they'll be able to pull it off. The couple go to great lengths to secure a job for Devu and lead a normal life, but there are too many skeletons in the closet. Devu is no longer feared for his might, and Sarasu's past clientele continue to haunt the joint. Devu is imprisoned on a trumped up charge and the couple's plans for normality never attain fruition. The inevitable return to lives of vice is especially tragic and heartbreaking.

Balachander excels at the verite portrayal of the daily drama in the lives of pimps, hookers, and their varied clientele, as well as the politicians who hire thugs like Devu to achieve their aims through violence. Devu's inherent goodness is contrasted with his "evil twin", a step-brother Soma who thwarts his every attempt at morality and finally succumbs at Devu's hands. Kamalhaasan has an interesting cameo as a Hindi speaking client of Sarasu. Balachander skewers middle-class morality and takes potshots at the hypocrisy of do-gooders. In the final analysis, the film is an indictment of society at large, for not allowing lesser mortals to rejoin society and return to a life of normality. The film starts out questioning the existence of incorrect musical notes ie. why do immoral people exist in society ? At the very end, the answer is crystal clear. They exist because of you and me.