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Thangam Movie Review |
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| Behindwoods
Movie Review Board |
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Cast
: Sathyaraj, Megha Nair, Suja, Goundamani, Jayasree,
Magadevan, Ilavarasu, Sathyapriya, Balasing
Direction: G. Kicha
Music: Srikanth Deva
Production: G. Kicha, P. Nandha Raguram, M. Shahul Hameed |
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With so many recent Tamil movies reaching new heights
in terms of narration, style, technical finesse and
bold themes, comes Thangam with its decades old plot
and stale theme. It’s that old brother-sister
sentiment again: Sathyaraj’s character, an affectionate
brother, marries his sister to the very man who raped
her. Not only does Kicha, the movie’s director,
have nothing fresh to say about this hackneyed theme
to an already jaded audience, he harks back to those
disturbing traditional values that we thought we’d
left behind for good. Well no, that isn’t exactly
accurate because Pazhani was also full of such dubious
traditional sentiments: such as Bharath insisting
that his sister, Kushboo, stay married to her ruthless
husband even if he’s a murderer! |
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Movies
like these can be best credited for regressing Tamil
cinema to the dark ages, striking a terrible blow
to contemporary Tamil cinema that had begun looking
progressive.
When Sathyaraj, an affectionate and caring brother,
learns that his sister has to write an exam, he goes
overboard by providing her with a henchman to watch
over her. This is to show how protective he is of
her. A little later in the story his sister is raped,
and her devastated brother marries her to the man
who is responsible for this, sticking perfectly to
the age-old custom that has been religiously followed
in quite a few Tamil films. When a rival clan kills
Sathyaraj’s father, he predictably sets off
on a journey of vengeance.
For
an actor who starred in some performance packed movies
like Periyar, Ombathu roopai nootu & the light
hearted Kannamoochi Eenada in the recent times, Thangam
is a big let down.
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Goundamani
makes his appearance only after the story has proceeded a
bit, and proves the only occasional respite in this tedious
story. However, his attempts to make the audience laugh works
only sporadically, but on most occasions his voice crosses
all acceptable decibel levels. A fairly funny and enjoyable
bit is when he makes fun of Sathyaraj trying to fight the
villains by flying across. Megha Nair as Sathyaraj’s
love interest does her part decently, dancing well to a few
tunes. Thangam proves that the old Kollywood formula of masala
stirred together with those old, oppressive patriarchal sentiments
doesn’t glitter anymore. |
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Verdict:
Old, stale wine in older, staler bottle.
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