Tharai Thappattai (Tamil, 2016)

Bala yet again mesmerizes with his choice of characters to bring life to the themes behind his latest work. A love story amidst the traditional folk art of “Karagattam” highlighting the commercialization of art is not an easy subject to translate to screen. But Bala makes it happen in his own unconventional ways such as awkward dialogues & gender-defying characterization

Perhaps Ilayaraja agreed to this film just for the character of Saamipulavar who is a classical musician unable to stomach the music that he worships being trivialized & commercialized. You cannot get more META than that. Raja enthralls with his masterful pulsating score & soul-stirring songs which are used appropriately in the narrative

1-film old Varalakshmi known for her philanthropic activities & western theatrical performances is a revelation in TT. Given the license by Bala to be bold, crass & loud-mouthed she stuns with her modulation in both the comic as well as emotional sequences. That her no-holds-barred, inhibition-free enactment of the “Karagattam” dance makes the audience forget the clothes she is in & appreciate her dedication is a fantastic achievement in itself

Sasikumar is apt for the role of Sannasi. He brings out multiple emotions with conviction as his character traverses over varied segments such as talented folk artist, sacrificing 80s lover, disappointed son and so on. Of the many horrific villains Bala has introduced, RK Suresh will definitely stand out (along with Mottai’ Rajendran) for he is not just all brawn but also a lot of brain. His posture, the way he smokes weed, satirical dialogue modulation & ultra-violent streak add multiple shades to his character

The supporting characters Anthony Daasan & Amudhavanan add a lot of value to the proceedings. While Amudhavanan’s brother-sister arc is presented wonderfully still proving to be ultra-realistic, Anthony Daasan makes you believe he belongs to an actual troupe & convinces as one of the sanest around the bunch. The choice of Gayathri Raguram too is well made given that she looks & dances so much like Varalakshmi

The camera work by Chezhian is marvelous especially given the fact that he chooses angles that do not project the folk artists’ dance in a vulgar fashion. However the cleverly used cuts of the watching audience by Sasikumar show how vulgarity lies in the eyes of the onlookers

While it is appreciable that Bala brings to the silver screen the trials & tribulations of the downtrodden & the unknown groups, he does so in a template that is predicable in his filmography. Of course, one has to accept that this film bears no similarity whatsoever with his previous masterpiece, Paradesi. This criticism is not to downplay the work behind creating/identifying such characters but the fact that the general public are able to bracket them into a typical Bala narrative is something we hope he corrects

The violence in Bala’s films seem to be on a never-ending exponential curve as he travels on his film-making journey. And this aspect of his films drives away so many from wanting to watch them. While it is incorrect to call this entirely “unwanted” to his scripts, it is a fervent hope that he cuts down on them as much as possible. Also, logical loopholes are pretty rarely seen in Bala’s films. But the short time in which Sannasi is able to locate Sooravali and one Sooravali dance resulting in tickets for the entire crew make a mockery of this