Like Ajith's Dheena, Dhil too tries to offer everything in one movie. It has a cute romance, good comedy, sentiments and ferocious stunt sequences. But the violence here is quite bloody and serious (enough to earn the movie an 'A' certificate) and though the light-hearted portions and the more violent scenes are handled well, they fail to gel, resulting in a movie that at times feels like it is confused about the tone it should adopt. Dhil is like a meal where we intake both sweet, and hot and spicy items alternately. The overall meal is good and we feel full, but those items just don't go together.

Kanakavel(Vikram) is an aspiring police officer. He has been selected for the first phase of training and things are happening as planned on the professional front. On the personal front too, life is smooth with his sister's engagement and a blooming romance with Asha(Laila), his sister's fiance's sister. One evening, Kanakavel thrashes a man who tries to misbehave with Asha but later learns that the man is Shankar(Ashish Vidyarthi), one of the most corrupt police officers around. An insulted Shankar seeks revenge and once he locates Kanakavel, he begins to harass him and his family.

The initial portions are a lot of fun. Vikram's romance with Laila is cute and sweet with the right mix of comedy and romance (PTC buses must be a lucky charm for Laila with her first meeting with the hero here, as in both Paarthen Rasithen and Dheena, happening near one). Vikram's method of transporting her on his bike and the comments of the people who see it is a very funny segment. Vivek, Vaiyapuri and Mayilsamy are on hand for the comedy. While Vivek's separate track focusses as always on beliefs of people and social problems like begging, his lines when he is with Vikram are more fun. His reaction after Vikram abandons then before going with Laila is hilarious and his imitation of Laila brings down the house.

This movie has something that recent movies, with their accent on romance and comedy, have not had - a truly detestable villain. Ashish Vidyarthi earns our revulsion with both his words and acts, as the corrupt police officer. But the flip side of this is that the violence is harrowing and realistic. The scene where he tortures Vikram at the police station is very bloody. The scenes where the dada targets and then kills Charuhasan and later, goes after Vikram's family(including his pregnant sister) are the other scenes which are picturised in harrowing manner. These scenes are picturised well with the catchy Kandha Sashti Kavasam in the background working very well in raising the tempo in the couple of scenes where Vikram pushes himself beyond his limits. But it is jarring when we get such violent scenes bookended by lighthearted scenes of romance or comedy.

Supporting characters are developed well and that helps to involve us in the movie. Vikram's parents and sister are living, breathing people instead of cardboard cut-outs existing solely to be harassed. There are small scenes that allow us to empathise with them and so we genuinely care for them by the time they are affected by the police officer's acts. But Nasser's flashback to explain his wife's mental state doesn't work as well and sticks out.

Vikram looks like he is aiming to be the Salman Khan of Tamil cinema, revealing his buffed-up torso at every oppurtunity. Thankfully, he has developed a good body for the role and so it doesn't get on our nerves. He has also taken a few risks that make the stunt sequences look realistic. Laila looks pretty and cute and earns our sympathy when she is taken to the police station. Ashish Vidyarthi, a Bollywood import, is superb as the rowdy police inspector. His expressions and dialog delivery embellish the character and he makes us hate him. A hugely underrated Vidyasagar, making another round in Tamil after huge success in Malayalam(where he has earned the nickname 'A.R.Rehman of Malayalam cinema'), makes sure the tunes are catchy. The title song is catchy while the melodious Un Samayalariyil... features some nice lyrics.