Thaandavam

My review : Thaandavam

A.L.Vijay's Vikram starrer "Thaandavam" is watching two movies simultaneously with mixed results. One is well written , neatly enacted & riveting while the other is poorly written & executed with below par acting that tests the patience of the viewers. As a result one has to take solace that atleast the movie is not a complete washout like Vikram's previous flick "Raajapattai". 

As said earlier the Indian portion of the movie is well written &  executed , keeps the viewers interested. Though it has flashes of inspiration from Manirathnam's "Mouna Raagam" the romantic portion as well the village portions are good. Not only Vijay has tried to take inspiration of the famous Manirathnam flick but he has also tried to do a Manirathnam with his dialogues as well for that portion. (Numerous one word dialogues like "Paakala"..."Ippo parunga"...etc galore...!!!! ) Nonetheless it is this portion that gives sanity to this overall mediocre & poorly written movie which drags on & on.

The London portions are so boring that even Shanthanam's valiant effort to infuse life fails. All the English actors ( or they amatuer drama artists..!!) do poorly including Amy Jackson. The characters are all half-backed & lifeless. Even Jagapathi Babu's character is poorly etched out that it doesn't evoke enough anger from the viewer to root for the hero in the end. The heights of amateurishness is the end where Hero is absolved of all the crimes & Home minister is asking for him to be reinstated in RAW!  

Vikram has done a neat job as a longing lover , dashing RAW officer & a visually impaired and betrayed person vying for revenge. Anuskha is lovely in her "Mouna Raagam" Revathish role. Chemistry between Vikram & Anushka is good. Amy Jackson fails to impress. She needs a great deal of training as far as acting is concerned. Shanthanam's is more of a semi-serious role with very few scope for laughter. Veterans like Nasser , Saranya , Sayaji Shinde , Kota Srinivasa Rao , M.S. Baskar, Thambi Ramaiah , Delhi Ganesh , all assert their experience. Jagapathi Babu suffers from a poorly written role though he is sincere in his effort.

G.V.Prakashkumar's background score is good in parts while "Oru paadhi kanavu" & "Uyirin uyire" are awesome melodies.

Nirav Shah's cinematography is awesome as ever. It is a very good camera work , too good for such a below-average script. Technically the movie is very good.

Everyone in  RAW speak Tamil , almost all Indians shown in London speak Tamil. Whether it is coincidence or poor thinking it is the same what ever the language of the movie , be it Hindi or Telugu.

On the whole, "Thaandavam" is two movie rolled into one , the Indian story might just save the day for Vijay & Vikram.

Bottomline : A tale of two movies...!!

2.5/5