FILM REVIEW: “Thailavar Thambi Thalaimaiyil”

This year’s Pongal release, Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil impressed critics and audiences, enjoying critical praise and box-office success. The film marks Jiiva’s 45^th film and is co-written by Nithish Sahadev, Anuraj O.B. and Sanjo Joseph and directed by Nithish Sahadev.

Jiiva plays Jeevarathnam, the head of the Panchayat in a rural village. He enjoys the admiration and respect of the village inhabitants and knows each resident personally. Illavarasu (Illavarasu) has set the date for his daughter’s wedding and calls on Jeevarathnam to ensure that everything proceeds smoothly.

Illavarasu’s arch enemy, Mani (Thambi Ramiah) lives in the adjacent house, but this revulsion is not shared by the rest of his family.

Events take a dramatic turn with the passing away of Mani’s father on the eve of the wedding, throwing the adjacent households, and then the village into turmoil.

The situation is further complicated by Jeevarathnam’s political rival, Thavidu (Jenson Dhivakar) whose arrival in the village brings fresh problems and huge complications for Illavarasu’s family.

Sowmya (Prathana Nathan) and Kanniyappan (Subash Kannan) are in regular telephonic contact as the wedding time draws closer, but the frequency of the calls and their timing present fresh problems for Sowmya who is already dealing with the tension of the feud between her father and Mani. This tension then erupts into a series of events that tear the village apart, presenting new challenges to both households.

Thalivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil has some lively and intense acting performances from virtually every member of the cast. Jiiva heads this list with an uncharacteristic portrayal of Jeevarathnam in an endearing role that combines maturity, comedic timing and raw talent.

Illavarasu and Thambi Ramiah are both talented character artists and use their respective characters to deliver polished and memorable performances.

Subash Kannan as the over-eager and over-anxious groom delivers a sparkling performance while Prathana Nathan out shadows him with a passionate portrayal of Sowmya.

Jenson Dhivakar delivers a delightful performance as Thavidu, a role that combines humour and villainy.

The best of the others are Sai Vignesh as Benny, Jaiwanth as Thyagu and a special cameo appearance by Maala Parvathi as Jeevarathnam’s mother.

There is a lot of organic humour in the film, but the pace is slow and its resolution questionable. This is a pity because the script has great characterization and some very witty exchanges. Unfortunately, the pace of the screenplay dilutes the effect of the script and the acting performances.

Bablu Aju’s cinematography has some highlights but the creativity is not sustained.

It is a below average performance from music composer, Vishnu Vijay in his Tamil debut.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see in the film what Indian audiences and critics saw. While it has a lot of positives, it is a strictly one-time watch film because of its slow pace.

Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil scores 6 points out of 10.