Preity Mukundhan leads martial arts actioner ‘Blast’ with a Drishyam-style twist
Chennai: Blast, directed by Subash K Raj, puts a martial arts spin on the family-under-threat thriller and hands the lead to Preity Mukundhan in a standout turn as IT professional Nila.
On the surface, Nila’s life looks ordinary. She works in IT, plays mobile games, and spends evenings at her pharmacist uncle’s shop. Her father Rajaram, played by Arjun, is a karate master, and her mother is a homemaker. But the film quickly reveals that this quiet household hides serious skill.
The premise draws from a Drishyam-like idea: what if a family of martial arts pros is forced out of normal life to fight injustice when trouble lands at their door? Director Subash K Raj uses the setup to stage grounded, high-impact action while giving Nila a clear moral drive.
Nila’s fight began in childhood. After a ragging incident, her father tells her to fight back if she is right and to stand up for strangers facing injustice. That lesson shapes her adult life. The film introduces grown-up Nila with a jolt. A goon crashes into a den, and a henchman walks out looking for the man responsible, telling Nila to step aside. She steps in instead, and the brawl begins.
Subash keeps the film’s male characters underestimating Nila, using that ingrained sexism to fuel the action. In one scene, villains dismiss Rajaram and Nila as just a father and daughter, missing the threat they pose.
The review notes that Mukundhan avoids a routine gender-swapped action role. The film gives her time to build Nila’s motivations and stakes. However, it also points to a misstep in how a sexual harassment arc involving Nila and her manager is handled. While it sets up a masala moment, the scene leans on humor and does not expand the film’s larger idea that Nila’s world is already primed to exploit women’s vulnerabilities.
Blast is earning praise for its concept and for Mukundhan’s performance, even as it raises questions about pacing and tone. The film is currently in theaters.
