Thangam Movie Review

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

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!

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. 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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