Thimmarusu

Thimmarusu: Assignment Vaali is a 2021 Telugu crime thriller directed by Sharan Koppisetty and produced by Mahesh S. Koneru and Yarabolu Srujan for East Coast Productions and S Originals. Satyadev plays a young lawyer who reopens an eight-year-old murder case, with Priyanka Jawalkar and Ajay. It is a remake of the 2019 Kannada film Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni, itself based on the 2017 Korean film New Trial, and takes its name from Timmarusu, the chief minister of the Vijayanagara Empire. It was released in theatres on 30 July 2021.

What the story is about

A man hands Aravind, a taxi driver who works as a police informant, a video of something suspicious. That night a young man named Vasu drives past and finds Aravind dead. Vasu is arrested by Bhupati Raju, a corrupt police officer, who beats him and frames him for the murder. Eight years later, when Vasu gets out on parole, a lawyer named Ramachandra takes up his case. The film follows Ram’s attempt to find out what really happened that night, and we will leave the answers to the film.

Cast

• Satyadev as Ramachandra “Ram”, a lawyer
• Priyanka Jawalkar as Anu
• Ajay as DCP Bhupati Raju
• Brahmaji as Sudhakar “Sudha”
• Ankith Koyya as Vasu Gopisetty
• Ravi Babu as Varaha Murthy, the public prosecutor
• Chaitanya Rao Madadi as Aravind
• Jhansi as Vasu’s mother

Making of the film

The film was announced in September 2020 and was Sharan Koppisetty’s second film as director after Kirrak Party (2018). Shooting began in October 2020; Satyadev told Eenadu it was completed in 39 days, and the Kannada original’s story writer, M. G. Srinivas, stayed in touch throughout. Sricharan Pakala composed the music for the Mango Music label; the first single, “The Thimmarusu”, came out on 16 July 2021. A release planned for 21 May 2021 was pushed back by the COVID-19 pandemic. Writing in Firstpost, Hemanth Kumar noted how the film draws a parallel between the historical Timmarusu and the modern lawyer.

Reviews

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu found it tauter than the Kannada original and said it “leverages the strengths of its lead man”. The Hans India (3/5) singled out Satyadev’s performance, Brahmaji’s humour and the twists, and the Deccan Chronicle called it a decent crime thriller with an engrossing screenplay. Sravan Vanaparthy of The Times of India (3/5) called it “an earnest attempt” let down by “a contrived screenplay and a hurried climax”, and The Indian Express found it a “convoluted thriller” that is at times slow and repetitive.

Box office

News18 Telugu reported an opening-day distributors’ share of ₹0.56 crore. We have not found a final figure from a named outlet.

Where to watch Thimmarusu

Netflix bought the digital rights, and the film was set to premiere there on 28 August 2021, a month after its cinema release. That date comes from the film’s Wikipedia article rather than a platform listing, so check Netflix before you press play.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Thimmarusu and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.