Karuppu (2026), disappoints badly

I like R J Balaji’s films, and with a star like Suriya, Karuppu (2026) had all the ingredients for a solid entertainer. What could have been an engaging courtroom drama gets weighed down by an uneven screenplay and confused characterisation. Mangoidiots gives the film a Rotten.

R J Balaji plays Baby Kannan, an unscrupulous lawyer practising in a Chennai Magistrate Court. Through his associates, he controls much of the court proceedings and bends the system for personal gain, denying justice to those who need it most. A helpless father and daughter get trapped in this web. After months of delays and frustration, they turn to the local deity worshipped around the court premises, Karuppuswamy, portrayed by Suriya. Whether Karuppu helps the victims, and why, forms the rest of the story.

With such a promising premise, I was expecting an entertaining and thought-provoking film in R J Balaji’s style. Instead, what we get is a wandering screenplay with no strong emotional anchor. In the first half, just when we begin to invest emotionally in the father-daughter pair, the narrative abruptly shifts focus to another issue. Soon after, the film introduces Trisha as a talented lawyer supporting the victims, and for a brief moment, it feels like we may get a gripping courtroom drama similar to Jolly LLB. Sadly, that expectation too fades quickly.

The film initially succeeds in making us empathise with the innocent victims and feel angry about the delays and frustrations in the Indian judicial system. But very soon, the storytelling becomes excessively pessimistic. The film seems to suggest that when all hope is lost, only divine intervention can deliver justice. That felt exaggerated to me. Yes, our legal system can be painfully slow, sometimes taking years or even decades, but there are still higher levels of appeal and accountability available in a democracy like India. By painting everything as hopeless, the film slowly disconnects itself from reality.

The first half works better than the second. The final state assembly scenes felt lazy and predictable, weakening whatever impact the climax had managed till then. Amazon Prime Video is the OTT partner for the film.