This film is an attempt by producer Vikram Krishna to promote brother Vishal to the ranks of the superheroes of Tamil cinema.

Vishal had a good start by starring in Chellamay, where he played husband to Reema Sen [Images] who was stalked by a psychotic teenager (Bharat). He then had Sandaikozhi, directed by Linguswamy of Run fame, where he got to play an action hero. Here again, a well-knit script and powerful performance by Raj Kiron made his action sequences look credible. This time, it is the duty of debutant director Tharun Gopi to direct Thimiru and make Vishal a superhero.

Ganesh (Vishal) is a medical student studying in Chennai. He is hiding from Chinna Karuppu (former football player I M Vijayan) and Periya Karuppu (Manoj K Jayan), the brothers of Easwari (Shreya Reddy), a loan shark in Madurai [Images]. She and her gangsters humiliate Srimathi (Reema Sen) in public, as her relative do not pay back a loan. Ganesh interferes, beats up the gangsters and humiliates Easwari.

Easwari is impressed by Ganesh's machismo and swears she will marry him within a week. The marriage does not happen and an enraged Easwari attempts to stab Ganesh. Instead, she thrusts a hatchet into an electric fuse box and dies. Her brothers now want Ganesh's blood, so he is sent packing to Chennai to continue his studies.

Chinna Karuppu and his men reach Chennai in search of Ganesh. Meanwhile, another girl called Srimathi has been trying, unsuccessfully, to woo him. Will Ganesh survive? Will he fall for Srimathi? No prizes for guessing.

Vishal has given an intense performance as a student tormented by his past. He easily slips into the role of a temperamental son pampered by his parents. His performance is the film's only strength and, to an extent, makes up for the weak script and poor characterisation. Reema Sen has nothing much to do except cavort around in song sequences. Shreya Reddy bowls you over with her performance as the tough lady spitting venom in Madurai slang. Unfortunately, her role is short-lived, but she does have a sizzling item number. It's also good to see a slimmer, more curvaceous Kiran in an item song.

Kannal Kannan has choreographed the action sequences well. Priyan's cinematography is average. What the film suffers from is a weak screenplay. The villains are stereotyped, the climax is cliched. Former football captain Vijayan's debut in Tamil is a disaster. He is reduced to a mere thug. Manoj K Jayan's performance is loud, and Yuvan's music fails to rock. Still, thanks to its masala, this is a time-pass flick.

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