THANGALAAN works due to its theme and Pa Ranjith’s execution

Thangalaan Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: Pa Ranjinth

Thangalaan Movie Review Synopsis:
THANGALAAN is the story of a brave man. The year is 1850. Thangalaan (Chiyaan Vikram) is the chief of the Veppur village and resides with his wife Gangamma (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and four children. Though he is a chief, he has to work as a bonded labourer. After the zamindar’s (Vettai Muthukumar) men set fire to his land, his produce is destroyed. He is unable to pay taxes, and he is forced to give up his land. This is when a British Officer Lord Clement (Daniel Caltagirone) arrives in Veppur. He is seeking gold from a nearby region and asks Veppur villagers for help, as he’s aware of their ancestral expertise in tracing it. Everyone at first refuses as the story goes that the gold mine area is infested with ghosts. Thangalaan’s great-grandfather Kaadaiyan (Chiyaan Vikram) was one such expert too. Thangalaan agrees and a few villagers also join him in the gold finding exercise. Thangalaan, however, is harassed by hallucinations of Aarathi (Malavika Mohanan), a sorceress and protector of the gold land. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Thangalaan Movie Story Review:
Pa Ranjith and Tamil Praba’s story is imaginative and is not run-of-the-mill. Pa Ranjith and Tamil Praba’s screenplay has its share of blemishes but at the same time, it is detailed and gripping and also raises some important issues. Azhagiya Periyavan’s dialogues are sharp. The Hindi dubbed dialogues, however, are not up to the mark.

Pa Ranjith’s direction is first-rate. There’s no doubt that he’s technically sound. In the past, he has used sound, mood, camerawork, etc to deliver a unique cinematic experience and THANGALAAN is no exception. The scene in the pre-climax which switches from night to day and then night again shows his creative finesse. He also gives a commercial treatment to the film but at the same time, doesn’t follow the usual tropes that one sees in mass entertainers. He does it in his own style. While doing so, he speaks about caste atrocities and greed, and this adds a lot to the film.

On the flipside, in many places, the film gets too heavy and even messy. A lot is happening, and the audience might get overwhelmed while absorbing the goings-on. The film is also a bit abstract and secondly, despite commercial elements, it is not a typical mass-appealing film. These two factors would restrict its appeal.

Thangalaan – Trailer (Hindi) | Chiyaan Vikram | K E Gnanavelraja | Pa Ranjith | G V Prakash Kumar

Thangalaan Movie Review Performances:
Chiyaan Vikram looks unrecognizable. His transformation is unbelievable, and his performance is out of the world, to say the least. He has given several memorable performances, and this is surely one of his best acts. Parvathy Thiruvothu gets into the skin of her character and looks every inch a poor villager. She also plays a strong part and does justice to it. Malavika Mohanan has limited screen time but rocks the show. She suits the part to the T. Daniel Caltagirone is impressive. Vettai Muthukumar is hardly there. Hari Krishnan (Varada), Preeti Karan (Arasani), Arjun Anbudan (Asoka) and others lend able support.

Thangalaan music and other technical aspects:
G V Prakash Kumar’s music is not of chartbuster variety and won’t work among the Hindi audience. All songs of the film like ‘Murga Murgi’, ‘Katai Ghana’, ‘Koi To Aae Raah Dikhae’ and the title song fail to entice. G V Prakash Kumar’s background score is way better.

A Kishor Kumar’s cinematography is breathtaking. Stunner Sam’s action is a bit gory but works for a film of this kind. Aegan Ekambaram and Anitha Sundaresan’s costumes are non-glamorous and too real and earthy. S S Murthi’s art direction is well-researched. Hybrid 360’s VFX is first-rate. Selva R K’s editing could have been slicker and more fast-paced.

Thangalaan Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, THANGALAAN works due to its theme, Pa Ranjith’s execution and above all, an award-winning performance by Chiyaan Vikram. However, it’s not a typical mass entertainer. Its Hindi version, hence, will need strong word of mouth from its target audience to become a success at the box office.