Former President and renowned scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam always spoke about how the ‘untapped’ potential of the youth of India should be utilized properly to make India a developed country. He constantly urged youngsters to dream and stated that developed India will be a network of prosperous villages and not cities. In one of his speeches at the IAS Officers’ Academy, Dr Kalam spoke about a young man from a Thoothukudi village and his scientific innovation which is what the Tamil film Lineman is all about.
(Also read: Amaran review: Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi shine in Rajkumar Periasamy's well-crafted tribute to the armed forces ) The plot Based on a real story, Lineman, directed by debutant M Udhayakumar, narrates the story of Senthil (debutant Jegan Balaji), a young man living in Kambikattu village in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. The entire village works in the salt pans for eight months of the year to earn their livelihood and for the remaining four months, borrow money from the owner of the salt pans, Thalamuthan, to survive. Senthil’s father, Subbiah (Charle), is in a slightly better position as he is an electric lineman in the government electricity department and manages to make Senthil a mechanical engineer.
However, the road for Senthil and this village is not easy – the village has no proper roads, no transport and is at the mercy of Thalamuthan. (Also read: I Am Kathalan review: Naslen Gafoor's love story featuring techno crime is just timepa.
