Johnny (2018 film)


Johnny is a 2018 Tamil action heist thriller film directed by Vetriselvan and produced by Thiagarajan. The film stars Prashanth and Sanchita Shetty in the lead roles, with Prabhu, Anandaraj, Ashutosh Rana, Aathma Patrick, and Sayaji Shinde amongst others in supporting roles. Johnny got mixed reviews by film critics and audience. The film is a remake of 2007 Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar which itself was an uncredited adaptation of the 1963 French film Symphonie Pour Un Massacre by Jacques Deray which in turn was based on the 1962 French crime novel Les Mystifies by Alain Reynaud Fourton.

Plot

Shakthi, Jaishankar, Prakash, Ram, and Shiva are partners in a happening club in town. One day, Shiva goes to Kochi to strike a financial deal with Kalyan, an intelligent cop. Meanwhile, Shakthi and Ramya, who are in love with each other, hatch a plan to leave the country without informing anyone. Later, the partners get the shock of their life when they learn about Shiva's demise, followed by a few more assassinations. Finally, Shakthi settles scores with all his partners and pursues his dream of settling down in Canada with Ramya.

Cast

In February 2017, Thiagarajan announced that he would produce a film starring Prashanth, which would be directed by debutant Vetriselvan, an erstwhile assistant to director Jeeva Shankar. The film was revealed to be titled Johnny during June 2017, with the makers successfully requesting the makers of the 1980 Tamil film of the same name for permission to reuse the title. Telugu actress Ananya Soni was initially revealed to be cast in the lead female role, but was later dropped. The film began shoot quietly during the same month, with the new lead actress, Sanchita Shetty revealing that the production was "60% complete" by late July 2017 after a schedule in Chennai. She also stated that the film was a remake of the successful Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar by Sriram Raghavan, and the other actors including Prabhu, Ashutosh Rana, and Sayaji Shinde would feature in key roles.

Reception

Times of India wrote "The plot had enough substance for an edge-of-the-seat thriller and the actors were all apt in their roles. But shoddy screenplay, logical loopholes and unimpressive making played spoilsport." The Indian Express wrote "An almost decent neo-noir thriller that falls short in its execution".