Thodari (transl. Train) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action-romance film[2] co produced, written and directed by Prabhu Solomon. It stars Dhanush and Keerthy Suresh, with D. Imman composing the film's music.[3] Set on an express train, Thodari follows a pantry worker who tries to save the passengers and his girlfriend from hijackers and a politician's bodyguard amid a runaway train incident.
Thodari was released theatrically on 22 September 2016. It was later dubbed into Hindi as Express Khiladi in 2018.[4]
Plot
At New Delhi Railway Station, Poochiyappan is a railway catering company server on duty on the New Delhi-Chennai Express. He works with his team member and best friend, Vairam, under his supervisor, Chandrakanth.
During the journey, he meets Saroja, actress Srisha's make-up artist, and falls in love with her at first sight. She wants to become a successful singer. Poochi tells Vairam about Saroja, who promises to help him woo her. Poochi devises a plan and makes her talk on the phone to Vairam, who acts as the renowned Tamil poet Vairamuthu. However, he soon discovers that Saroja is not good at singing, despite continuing to support her. Saroja remains close to Poochi, as she wants to enter the singing industry without knowing that Vairam is Vairamuthu.
The train stops at Jhansi, where Central Minister Rangarajan boards the train with his two bodyguards. One of them, Nandhakumar, doesn't get along with Poochi and Saroja. The minister humiliates him in front of Poochi, and he wants to take revenge. Poochi asks him to apologise to Saroja for hitting her earlier, to which he agrees to get his lost gun back. He soon discovers that the firearm is with the minister. He vows to murder Poochi and Saroja. Meanwhile, at Nagpur Junction, robbers board the train without anyone's knowledge as the driver celebrates his retirement.
The following morning, Srisha's mother spots Saroja with Poochi and informs Saroja's uncle, who then asks him to call singer Vairamuthu in front of them, which leads to the truth. After discovering the truth, Saroja's uncle scolds her. Saroja, now devastated, asks him never to show his face again. When he goes to apologise to Saroja, Nandhakumar confronts him and locks him in a room. The train stops after hitting wild bulls. The driver blames the assistant driver, who failed to alert the driver. Nandhakumar tries to attack Saroja, but she escapes. Due to a fight between the train guard and the assistant driver, the deputy driver waves a green flag; the locomotive driver notices, and, thinking that the deputy driver has checked the brakes' connection, the engine driver starts the train. She boards the engine instead of the passenger compartment as she fails to get on the moving train. At the same time, the guard and the assistant driver fall off the train, leaving them behind. The train ticket examiner passes a message to the railway administrator that the guard is not on the train. However, the driver, numb from thinking of the incident, does not hear it. After a few moments, the driver dies of a heart attack. While falling, he pushes the controls forward, making the train speed up, which Saroja watches, much to her horror. The train starts to skip stations, much to the stationmaster's alarm and the railway administrators' dismay. At the same time, the burglars attack the passengers and order the train not to stop. The passengers get terrified due to the high speed. Poochi then overpowers Nandhakumar and attempts to save Saroja. He kills all the burglars and gives Saroja a walkie-talkie for communication. Nandhakumar tries to kill Poochi but dies after hitting an oncoming rail tunnel.
News circulated that the train driver died and that terrorists hijacked the train. Several people mistake the robbers for terrorists and Saroja as their leader. The government gave responsibility to officers from the police and railway administration to bring down the train. When they realise that the train is out of control and not hijacked, they take help from Poochi and Saroja to stop the train by guiding Saroja on how to turn on the emergency brake. However, due to a short circuit earlier, the brakes do not work. They devise a plan to detach the engine from the passenger compartment. Poochi succeeds after a long attempt and jumps onto the locomotive to save Saroja. Saroja realises her love for Poochi. At Chennai Central Railway Station, police evacuate the whole station as the oncoming train approaches. The locomotive crashes into the station, and Poochi and Saroja are injured but alive. The separated passenger compartments arrive in Chennai, safe with passengers unscathed. The media interviews them, and Poochi is named a national hero.
In early 2015, Prabhu Solomon approached Dhanush to play the lead role in his next film and by February 2015, the director had started pre-production work with a recce in North India.[5]Keerthy Suresh was signed to play the leading female role.
Thodari is the first Indian film that was shot entirely on a train.[6] The film's shoot took place predominantly on the Duronto Express, and the film features the lead pair travelling from Delhi to Chennai.[7] Hence, initially, a grand train set was put up at Binny Mills, Chennai during July 2015 for the film's initial schedule.[8] Production continued for sixty days straight, with the makers alternating between shooting the film in sets and on a live train.[9] Shoot progressed through the middle of 2015, with scenes also filmed in Goa and Hyderabad. In October 2015, a schedule was shot in Orissa, after which production was completed for scenes featuring Dhanush.[10][11][12] Prabhu Solomon continued to shoot further scenes featuring parallel stories throughout late 2015 and early 2016, with Ganesh Venkatraman filming scenes during January 2016.[13]
The film received mixed reviews from critics and audience.[14]
Box office
The film collected ₹15 crore (US$1.9 million) to ₹17 crore (US$2.1 million) in Tamil Nadu in five days and ₹1.7 crore (US$210,000) in Chennai in first weekend. The film collected ₹17.2 lakh (US$22,000) in United States, ₹3.32 lakh (US$4,200) in UK and ₹46.87 lakh (US$59,000) in Malaysia.[15]
The soundtrack of the film is composed by D. Imman.[17] The last time he scored music for a film starring Dhanush was in 2006 for Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam, and this is the fifth time Prabhu Solomon is collaborating with Imman.
^"How Dhanush Filmed Thodari. It Was 'Life Threatening'". NDTV. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2016. Thodari is the story of a pantry boy played by Dhanush and happens on a Delhi- Chennai train. Though it has elements of realism like all my films, it's a complete commercial action-romance film.
