‘Rifle Club’ Ending Explained: Decoding How Aashiq Abu Bent Chekhov’s Gun Principle Twice To Deliver a Thrilling Finale (SPOILER ALERT)
Rifle Club made a strategic blunder by releasing alongside Marco. Unni Mukundan and Haneef Adeni’s ultra-violent actioner dominated the box office, leaving Aashiq Abu’s Rifle Club overshadowed during its theatrical run, despite earning better reviews. While Rifle Club cannot be considered a flop – it grossed INR 27 crore worldwide on a modest INR 10 crore budget – it fell short of its potential earnings. This underperformance has been a topic of discussion among viewers who have now discovered the film on Netflix, where it recently debuted and gained a wider appreciation. ‘Rifle Club’ Movie Review: Aashiq Abu’s Thriller Is a Stylishly Shot Crowd-Pleaser With a Few Bumps!
Seemingly inspired by John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, Rifle Club features an ensemble cast, including Vijayaraghavan, Dileesh Pothan, Vani Vishwanath, Suresh Krishna, Darshana Rajendran, Vishnu Agasthya, Vineeth Kumar, and Surabhi Lakshmi. Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap plays the menacing antagonist, while rapper Hanumankind makes his acting debut as the drug-addled and violent son of the villain.
SPOILERS AHEAD…
The Plot of ‘Rifle Club’
Set in the wilderness of Wayanad, Rifle Club revolves around an exclusive hunting and recreational club for novice shooters, run by Avaran, the son of one of the club’s founding members. The club is made up of family and close friends, all expert shooters. The story kicks off when a film star, Shahjahan, visits the club with his entourage to train for his upcoming movie, Vettamrugam.
Complications arise when a young couple seeking refuge at the club is pursued by Dayanand, a ruthless gun smuggler, after they kill his younger son in Mangalore. Dayanand’s elder son, Bheera, follows the couple to the club but is met with the members’ nonchalant resistance. Injured by the members, Bheera succumbs to his wounds, leading Dayanand to launch a violent siege on the club with his gang.
Watch the Trailer of ‘Rifle Club’:
However, Dayanand underestimates the club members, who are expert shooters and prepared for this kind of challenge. Some of them, like the wheelchair-bound Kuzhiveli Lonappan, have been waiting for such an opportunity to turn their hunting skills against the deadliest predator of all—man. This ironic turn is emphasised by Dayanand’s self-description as a ‘tiger with an Uzi,’ inadvertently positioning him and his son as the hunted animals who roam into the land of the hunters.
‘Rifle Club’ Climax
The climax of Rifle Club showcases the club members using their skills and shooting finesse to eliminate Dayanand’s gang. Dayanand, in a final act of defiance, demands a Mexican standoff with ‘Secretary’ Avaran. However, when he storms into the room, he is met by all the club members, employees, Shahjahan, and the young couple – each armed and ready.
A Still From Rifle Club
They unleash a barrage of bullets, sending Dayanand crashing through the glass partition and dying in the very spot where he had earlier mocked them by urinating. It’s a striking ending, and upon closer examination, it’s even more remarkable for how the film subverts the Chekhov’s Gun principle to deliver this finale.
Chekhov’s Gun Principle
A concept introduced by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, the Chekhov’s Gun principle states that “every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.” For instance, if a gun is introduced in the story, it must eventually serve a purpose, such as being fired later in the plot (as noted on Wikipedia).
How ‘Rifle Club’ Subverts the Rule
In Rifle Club, a film that celebrates guns and marksmanship, Chekhov’s Gun principle here naturally has to revolve around weapons. Early in the film, Shahjahan is given a tour of the club and learns about an underground vault containing prized, historic firearms, many dating back to Tipu Sultan’s invasion of Malabar. Among these weapons is something called The Big Bore.
For those unfamiliar with The Big Bore, you might want to Google it – because the film doesn’t bother to show it!
A Still From Rifle Club
Instead, the movie boldly removes this element from the narrative quite literally at that. When Lonappan’s son (and Avaran’s brother-in-law), Godjo, breaks into the vault to retrieve the weapons and level the playing field against Dayanand’s automatic guns, he finds the vault empty. Lonappan explains that he and Avaran had moved the weapons to their home, fearing a government inspection that could result in their confiscation as historical artefacts.
A Still From Rifle Club
By taking away the weapons that could have made the fight one-sided in the heroes’ favour, Rifle Club adds tension and forces its protagonists to rely on their skills, courage, and quick thinking to defeat the villains. This clever subversion also feels like a jab at recent films where big guns are used to glorify heroes, such as Kaithi, KGF 2, and Vikram. Ironically, Rifle Club lost the box office race to Marco, which features an over-the-top scene of the hero wielding an M134 in the climax. ‘Marco’ Movie Review: Unni Mukundan Brings Swag to a Gory, Disturbingly Violent Action-Thriller.
Breaking Another Chekhov’s Gun
The film also breaks Chekhov’s Gun principle in a smaller yet equally interesting way – this time, not involving guns. Before heading out on a hunt with Shahjahan, Avaran learns from his wife, Sisily, that she is pregnant. In most movies, such a revelation before a confrontation with the villain foreshadows tragedy for the couple. Rifle Club even teases this with the death of one of their two dogs – a female one, supposedly symbolising Sisily -killed by a tiger (a stand-in for Dayanand).
A Still From Rifle Club
Yet, the film defies expectations. Apart from a humorous “loading” joke followed by a fleeting warm moment between Avaran and his brother-in-law, the pregnancy revelation doesn’t bring any morbid, dramatic developments.
Shahjahan’s Transition Reflects Malayalam Cinema’s Transition?
Rifle Club is set in 1991. At the start, it establishes Shahjahan as a romantic hero looking to reinvent himself by taking on a more action-oriented role in Vettamrugam, which involves heavy use of weaponry. His producer and later the club members tease him about his romantic image and lack of experience handling weapons. However, during a boar-hunting expedition with Avaran, Shahjahan impresses everyone by standing his ground when an injured boar charges at them, showcasing his latent courage.
A Still From Rifle Club
Later, Shahjahan takes charge during a tense scene where he, his associates, a young couple, and one of the club members’ daughters are hiding in a room. When some of Dayanand’s men break in, Shahjahan dispatches most of them, with timely assistance from Ali and Shoshanna Punnoose. In the climax, he’s also among the shooters who take down Dayanand, completing his transition from a romantic lead to an action hero – a journey that mirrors his earlier promise to his producer about taking on Vettamrugam with Thyagarajan as the stunt master.
Shahjahan’s character leaves us guessing about who he might be based on, given the time period. The mention of Fazil discovering him makes him reminiscent of Shankar (who debuted in the early 1980s but was phasing out by the ’90s) and Kunchacko Boban (who debuted much later in the decade). He also evokes shades of Rahman and Vineeth (especially with the cliff-jumping joke). Interestingly, Niyaz Musaliyar, who plays Shahjahan’s PA, debuted as a romantic hero in the 1990 film Kshanakattu, making his casting feel like an intentional Easter egg.
Shahjahan’s shift from a romantic hero to an action star also symbolises a broader transition in Malayalam cinema during the early ’90s, as directors like Shaji Kailas and Joshiy ushered in an era of mass-appeal action films, such as Inspector Balram, Commissioner, and Ekalavyan.
The Bullet Loophole in the Mid-Credit Scene
Some fans have pointed out a significant loophole involving bullets in Rifle Club. In the third act, the club members are running out of ammunition, with only 45 bullets left to face 13 members of Dayanand’s gang. The experienced Lonappan calculates that even if they use three bullets per person, they would still have six rounds remaining (3×13=39, leaving six bullets).
A Still From Rifle Club
In the mid-credit scene, the team places their remaining bullets down, and as Lonappan predicted, they are left with six rounds. While this moment feels triumphant, the maths here do not make sense. Shouldn’t they have run out of bullets, especially given how many they pumped into Dayanand during the climactic battle?
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jan 21, 2025 10:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).
