THALAIVAA ("ITHU THEVAIYAA")

August 17, 2013.

Cast: Vijay, Amala Paul, Santhanam, Sathyaraj, Mano Bala, Rajeev Pillai.

Director: Vijay.

When the circumstances and loss of the loved ones demand, a normal man becomes a don or a leader for that matter; now that is a premise that we have seen time and again in films.

The same story can be taken in entirely different ways by different directors and when the story is something as old as the wine as far as the film industry is concerned it would do well for the film if helmed by an able hand which unfortunately is not the case with Thalaivaa.

Ramadurai (Sathyaraj) is forced to become the leader of the Tamilians in Bombay and in the ensuing gangwar he loses many of his people including his wife. He sends his son Vishwa (Vijay) along with Nasser and his son Santhanam who are leaving Bombay to have a safe and peaceful life. For the Tamilians Ramdurai grows into their beloved Anna while Vijay and Santhanam grow up in Australia unaware of anything that is happening back home. Vijay falls for Amala Paul who is the daughter of a hotelier and comes back home for his father’s approval. The story which was set in Australia till then shifts to Mumbai.

Barring around 5 minutes and a nice twist just before the interval, Thalaivaa is a disaster of sorts in the first half with a few songs (that are horrible to say the least), dumb comedy, and even dumber romance. A.L Vijay shows how horrible he is when it comes to certain areas of direction to the extent that even if you scoop out almost the entire first half it would have little or no effect on the film as a whole.

When you go back in after the interval hoping against hope for a little worth for your money A.L Vijay yet again proves why a lot of people always carry fear in their hearts about a film directed by him. The disaster of the first part continues in the second as well barring of course a few nice scenes like the one where Vishwa chases down a pickpocket and Vaanganna Vanakkamanna song (which is in fact the only song worth listening to or watching in the film).

A.L Vijay has always been so keen to “borrow” from other films right from Poi Solla Porom (remake of Khosla ka Ghosla), sometimes in parts and sometimes in entirety. He continues his streak of “borrowal without approval” in Thalaivaa as well, the theme and several scenes of which seem to have been lifted from yesteryear Tamil films. The Thalapathi Thalapathi song is yet another disaster to listen to and watch and what makes it even worse is the fact that the set up and choreography is a ditto copy of “Azeem Oh Shaan Shehanshah” from Jodhaa Akbar.

There is another twist towards the climax but, unlike the first one which nobody would have guessed coming, this one falls flat (along with the film) as it is very obvious right from a certain point in the first half.

Thalaivaa comes nowhere near films like Mani Ratnam’s “Thalapathi” , “Nayagan” or Priyadarshan’s Mohanlal starrer “Abhimanyu”, which were hugely successful because of their raw nature and powerful writing and direction. This in contrast looks so wayward a film to have come from a mainstream director. It fails in almost all the departments so bad that even the presence and grace of Vijay is not enough to compensate for the lazy writing and direction.

I am giving a 1.5 for Thalaivaa. It is sad to see Vijay acting in such a film after Nanban and Thuppakki!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.