Thozha (Tamil, 2016)

It takes guts to accept a quadriplegic character like this as Nagarjuna has done in this film for all his emotions have to be conveyed through just the face. While there are some scenes where we sense his discomfort at being constrained he does a magnificent job of pulling off such a role. It is also noteworthy that a flashback sequence to pander to a Hero image was not added to the film.

Karthi is known for his template set of reactions but when it comes to playing a comic next-door kind-of guy he is unparalleled. He shines in his spontaneity and does exceedingly well in the emotional sequences as well in addition to being awesome in the comic ones. All his scenes & dialogues involving ‘painting’ are a riot on screen!

Prakashraj plays the role of an advocate who is also the best-pal of Vikram. He is as usual at ease in both the emotional and the comic sequences adding tremendous value to each dialogue he utters. Tamannah & Kalpana though underused have performed adequately.

Given the rich canvas often cinematographers & editors go all flashy with the visuals and try to make the audience go ‘aww’ with each frame. But the team of P.S.Vinod & Praveen K.L. has stuck to what the script demands by never indulging. The car chase sequences filmed in Europe as well as Chennai have been shot, edited and choreographed very well too.

While I haven’t seen the original French film The Intouchables, it looks like the adaptation has been done well given that there are no elements that seem foreign to where the tale is located. The script, in spite of seeming to meander around the end of the first half, does a fine job of pulling things back post interval & immerses the audience into the emotional drama on display.

Predictable situations are fine in such a film but few lines are cheesy and tough to digest. Thankfully they are very few. One big disappointment was the make-up because for a big-budget flick like this, it is very amateurish to see the ill-fitted wig of Vivek and the artificial beard of Nagarjuna.