Stutters and chugs along despite a full tank

THE opening minutes of Shan-mugam Muthusamy’s Diesel, with Vetri Maaran’s voice-over, promise an exhilarating commercial experience of a well-researched issue that affects the fishermen of Ennore. Just when we begin to think that the delay of Diesel’s release was worth it, the writing decides to hit the brakes with full force.

- AKSHAY KUMAR

From then on, though the tank is full, the road is empty, and the destination is clear, Diesel decides to meander aimlessly before finally chugging along to the finish line.

Diesel begins in 1979, when the Tamil Nadu government decided to construct an oil pipeline along Chennai’s coast, which endangered the livelihoods of the fishermen in Royapuram. A group of youngsters, including Manoharan (Sai Kumar), is determined to disrupt the government's plans. They plan to illegally tap into the pipeline, selling the crude oil on the black market to compensate for their loss of income from fishing. Manoharan and his foster son ‘Diesel’ Vasu AKA Vasudevan (Harish Kaly-an) manage to build an empire and turn Robin Hood to the fishermen community, by greasing the palms of those who are in authority. Things go awry when their benevolent monopoly is contested. The black market competition between the rivals spirals into something more malignant.