
Tamil/2h30m/2025
Synopsis: The life of a drug addict Radha Mani, popularly known as ‘bottle Radha’, takes a different turn when he’s forcefully admitted to a rehabilitation center. Can this change of event cure him or will it make him worse?
Review:
There are only a few films which have considered drug addicts as patients, and Bottle Radha is one such piece. Most of the films have portrayed drug addicts either as comedians or heroes — an idiot or a person of hypermasculinity. There’s also no middle ground in this narrative and the reason for that is simply unknown. What makes this subject complicated is that there’s an underlying fact that consuming any sort of drug comes under one’s personal choice. But we have to understand something — addiction cannot be a personal choice and most of the addicts do not know that they are ‘addicts’ in the first place.
There has to be a sense of rationality and a clear mind before making a choice. A person who is sober has the ability to make decisions independently; but in the case of addicts, it’s their addictive brain that’s making the choice. So, let us stick with the idea that addicts are basically patients who have a depleting brain. While watching Dhinakaran’s Bottle Radha, we could say that the film has handled such matters meticulously.
The life of an addict is dull and highly monotonous. There isn’t anything exciting in their predictable lives. So, capturing such a thing is a difficult task but this film has done a pretty decent job! Whenever we encounter Radha Mani (Guru Somasundaram) having a gulp of his drink, we feel sorry for him. ‘Not anymore please’ is the feeling we get. Just like Radha’s wife (Anjalam – Sanchana), we also feel tired dealing with him. Throughout the journey, Guru maintains the personality of an alcoholic, and it feels as though there’s an overpowering fume of alcohol beside us. This is also one of the reasons why we deeply resonate with Anjalam who is often exhausted.
The only thing that keeps Anjalam alive is the hope of leading a happy life. One of the notable things is that we don’t see any ‘happy reunion’ of this couple. Many films in the past have glorified the idea of women taking care of pathetic men, but Anjalam in this film doesn’t give a damn about it. It is really nice to see her prioritizing her needs and her kid’s well-being over Radha.
The film also introduces something rarely seen in Tamil cinema — the depiction of rehabilitation centers. Some of you might have seen them in Western flicks, like in Euphoria or in Beautiful Boy. The centers shown in such series or movies are highly sophisticated, something that isn’t the case here. Corruption, insufficient funds, and a lack of empathy for addicts have kept things in check, and it is great that someone has shed light on such issues. The beautiful part here is that the film handles this subject in a comical way while maintaining a serious tempo. We don’t encounter anything preachy and we only burst out of laughter by looking at the things in the rehabilitation center.
The humour of Radha’s colleagues has the potential to stay in our hearts forever. Each person is unique in their own ways and the addiction has destroyed their true essence is the takeaway message from the humour. After a promising role in Sarpatta Parambarai, John Vijay (Ashokan) plays a major role in giving an overall shape to this film. His conversation with Radha serves as testimony to his maturity.
The final verdict?
So, Dhinakaran’s Bottle Radha isn’t just a socially responsible attempt but also a powerful piece which has all the necessary cinematic elements we look for. The placement of songs and the closing moments might not feel right; however, we cannot simply ignore the ray of hope it offers.