Cinema has evolved in the decade Cheran was away from directing. Bakasuran has a television-drama aesthetic—flat lighting, static shots, and a background score that tells you exactly when to feel sad or angry. For a film about the slick, fast-paced world of cybercrime, the visual language feels dated. Younger audiences, accustomed to the stylish thrillers of Lokesh Kanagaraj or Sudha Kongara, found the pacing sluggish.
Let’s take a deep dive into Cheran’s most recent outing, Bakasuran , and what it signifies for his filmography. Bakasuran , written and directed by Cheran (who also plays the lead), is his most recent complete work. On the surface, it is a thriller dealing with the dark underbelly of cyberbullying, revenge pornography, and the weaponization of social media. The title is a clever metaphor—comparing faceless online predators to Bakasura, the demon from the Mahabharata who demanded a daily tribute of human flesh. cheran recent movie
Cheran plays Sathya Moorthy, a retired, principled college professor living a quiet life in a hillside town. When his niece becomes the victim of a deepfake pornography ring and the police prove helpless against anonymous digital predators, Sathya takes matters into his own hands. What follows is not a typical action thriller but a cat-and-mouse game rooted in psychological warfare, legal loopholes, and moral lectures. The film contrasts the vile anonymity of the internet with the grounded, physical world of family honor and personal responsibility. The Cheran Stamp: Strengths of the Film For long-time fans, Bakasuran feels both familiar and frustratingly different. Here’s what works: Cinema has evolved in the decade Cheran was
For hardcore Cheran fans, Bakasuran is a welcome reminder of a voice that refuses to go silent. For a new generation of viewers, it might feel like a stern, well-meaning uncle giving a lecture at a family gathering—truthful, but tedious. Younger audiences, accustomed to the stylish thrillers of
The greatest strength of Autograph or Thavamai Thavamirundhu was that the message was embedded in the drama. You cried for the characters first, and then understood the moral. In Bakasuran , the reverse happens. The second half devolves into an extended lecture. Characters stop behaving like real people and start behaving like audience surrogates waiting for the next sermon. The subtlety that defined Cheran’s earlier work is largely absent here.
The director’s signature long, quiet speeches return. There is a scene in the second half where Sathya Moorthy confronts a young cybercriminal not with a fist, but with a devastating monologue about the weight of a father’s name and the hollowness of anonymous cruelty. For a few minutes, the film soars on pure writing.