Thamizh’s love that develops gradually, damaging relationship with his cousin in the process, gets torn around the lovers’ conflicting ideas of where his family fits in their nucleus of life. The lover gets married to the estranged cousin, Thamizh gets a wife he considers he is blessed to have had & just when things appear to be settling down, a devastating turn of events shakes his family apart. In his quest for reason, he learns his cousin had something to do with it and teaches the ones involved a ‘costly’ lesson.
Language:
Tamil
Running Time:
121 min
Rating:
U
Release date:
18 December 2015
Directed by:
Velraj
Produced by:
Dhanush
G. N. Anbu Chezhiyan
Written by:
Velraj
Starring:
Dhanush
Samantha Ruth Prabhu
Amy Jackson
Raadhika Sarathkumar
Sathish
K. S. Ravikumar
Jayaprakash
M. S. Bhaskar
Music by:
Anirudh Ravichander
Shot by:
A. Kumaran
Editing by:
M. V. Rajesh Kumar
Distributed by:
Sri Green Productions

What’s Hot

  • There is a sense of intrigue that the first scene sets & the few minutes pre & post interval that shroud it have been conceived well by the film’s writer director Velraj (who combines with Dhanush for the second time after their successful VIP).
  • Dhanush, as Thamizh, leads the pack of some limited yet fine performances from others in the cast (that boasts of names like Radhika, KS Ravikumar, Jayaprakash who deliver convincingly) with subtly distinct shades in character and getup that shows the transition over time pretty nicely.
  • Among the ladies, it is Samantha who shines in a role unusual for modern heroines these days. She particularly does well in the scene when she gets to see the shocking incident first. Amy has a bit of fun doing what she does & Andrea’s voice ensures she doesn’t stick out all that much.
  • Kumaran’s camerawork moves along un-noticed and the style seems to do just fine for the genre the film fits in. Rajesh Kumar’s editing ups the pace in the love scenes of the first half.
  • The costumes, the sets(houses) chosen to represent the families & some family conversations are refreshing bits worthy of mention.

What’s Not

  • Making a mockery of the villain seems to be a hidden agenda in Dhanush – Velraj films. Like in VIP, here too, we have a toothless villain who only gets used as a punch(line)-bag and because the role is poorly sketched, the character fails miserably in trying to elevate Thamizh’s level, who then resorts to mouthing irrelevant punchlines, which are a pain to your ears/brain!
  • In Anirudh’s music, a few songs (and lyrics) are inventive but inventive doesn’t automatically mean good, does it?! The songs aren’t that catchy & it has to be said even the background music in this film seems the weakest in all of Dhanush – Ani combines.
  • The stunt scenes come up as speed-breakers and are quite unbelievable. Just when we thought Tamil Cinema was getting over the fight-on-the-way-to-maternity-centre scenes, we are reminded of it in Thangamagan
  • While the intention of sending a message about money seems noble, it is pushed a little too late in the film & the treatment of those scenes with the suspense unimaginatively getting revealed on its own & unnecessary heroism dents it further

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

Without the deliberate messaging towards the end & heroics, the film may have passed as a realistic take on family, values and money. With it, sadly, it doesn’t pass as a formulaic commercial entertainer either for want of a better villain to elevate its hero & ends up in no man’s land