Narcotics cops Diwakar aka CKD & Mani rob two drug peddlers of 10kgs of cocaine who work for the drug lord Vittal Rao. To gain back his package, Vittal Rao kidnaps Diwakar’s son. Just when Diwakar decides to return the stash and free his son, the package goes missing. How Diwakar frees his son by tackling the drug mafia and managing to evade corrupt cops and an honest narcotics agent forms the crux of this edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Language:
Tamil
Running Time:
127 min
Rating:
U
Release date:
10 November 2015
Directed by:
Rajesh M. Selva
Produced by:
Kamal Haasan
S. Chandrahasan
Gokulam Gopalan
V. C. Praveen
Baiju Gopalan
Written by:
Frederic Jardin
Nicolas Saada
Kamal Haasan
Based on:
Sleepless Night by
Frederic Jardin
Starring:
Kamal Haasan
Trisha Krishnan
Prakash Raj
Kishore
Asha Sarath
Sampath Raj
Yugi Sethu
Madhu Shalini
Uma Riyaz Khan
Santhana Bharathi
Music by:
M. Ghibran
Shot by:
Sanu Varghese
Editing by:
Shan Mohammed
Distributed by:
Wide Angle Creations

What’s Hot

  • Kamal Haasan as CK Diwakar rightly steals the limelight. A tranquil introduction and an even subdued start to his role doesn’t really tell the audience what’s in store from this evergreen performer. He plays a role that aptly fits his age and makeover. As a narcotics cop and a caring father he juggles between the roles with an affluence that only this man can manage.
  • Prakash Raj as Vittal Rao wears glitzy suits, carries flashy gadgets and shares equal screen space. He once again proves why he is rated one of the most versatile actors in this industry. Be it the scene where he explains his personal life or the one where he threatens Kamal with panache, he reminds everyone that he is not the one to be left behind.
  • Trisha as the honest cop Mallika and an admirer of CKD’s work proves that she can handle roles like these with aplomb. A role devoid of glittering makeup and scant costumes, she still makes her moments count. Watch out for her sparing with Ulaganayagan and her facial expressions during that sequence, you might actually start rooting for her.
  • Kamal Haasan’s fast-paced screenplay combined with pretty slick story-telling makes the movie a real edge-of-the-seat thriller. When the man himself scripts the screenplay, one doesn’t have to wonder about the results. Kishore as the dirty cop Thiraviyam and Yugi Sethu as Mani complete the puzzle. Kishore and Kamal’s stunt sequence has been pretty naturally captured. Sandeep who plays the role of Kamal’s son slips in neatly into his role and lingers in everyone’s mind for his finishing dialogues.
  • Sampath, Madhu Shalini, Jagan, Uma Riyaz Khan make their appearances felt in their very limited screen presence while Chaams’ (Java Sundaresan) quirky one-liners provide some lighter moments.
  • Ghibran’s BGM combined with his cameo appearance are a real bonus. In movies like these where the main storyline does not rely on musicals to steal a few minutes away from the story narration, the background score assumes tremendous significance and Ghibran does enough justice with some top notch work!!

What’s Not

  • With a bevy of stars in the line-up and a pretty slick storyline, not all the actors seem to get enough screen presence. Asha Sarath and Sampath are proven actors and their roles could have been better etched.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

In today’s world, movies usually can satisfy either the critics or commerce. But when there is a movie, that can adroitly balance both these immoderations and doesn’t test the intelligence of the audience, it can be marked as one-of-a-kind - Thoongavanam falls into that category. Flicks like these are the ones that no true cinema watcher can ever miss or contemplate to overlook. The Director needs to be applauded for not giving into the modern-day temptation of slicing in some redundant commercial elements. Thoongavanam, blends a massive star-cast with some fast-paced screenplay and elegant storytelling to produce a superlative flick that can unquestionably not be missed.