THANI ORUVAN MOVIE REVIEW

Thani Oruvan directed by Mohan Raja opens with the statement saying that the story is not as horrifying as reality. Raja further gives a slight skew to the age old saying on friendship and proclaims – tell me about your enemy and I will tell you who you are. 

 

The film as promoted, in simple words, is the combat between good versus evil. For any film whose premise rests on this age old conflict, it is imperative that there is a powerful adversary to elevate the protagonist. Raja succeeds in this big time and stands different in the way he has written the character of his antagonist, Siddharth Abhimanyu, played by Arvind Swami. 

 

For Arvind Swami, Thani Oruvan is easily a significant film in his career and he is the showstopper here. His swagger and arrogance add a new dimension to the role. It is refreshing to see a villain with a lot of grey matter and style. The conceited smile he gives in the hospital lift after seeing Ravi is the cherry on the cake.    

 

Thani Oruvan is essentially a battle of wits and Ravi is at his best here. As Mithran IPS, his compassion towards his job and the intensity he brings on to the table give this clash a lot of worth and command. In this masculine turf, Nayanthara brings in color. However, she is just not there to bring in sensuality and romance but contributes appreciably in this game. 

 

Ravi and Nayan’s romance has been handled in a very mature manner and hats off to Raja for that! There is no teenager’s giddiness here. 

 

Ganesh Venkatraman, Harish Uthaman, Sricharan Rangarajan, and Rahul Madhav as Ravi’s friends have all done their roles to perfection. It is good to watch a film without an unwarranted and disjointed comedy track. That said Thambi Ramiah brings the cheer in this intense drama with his performance.

 

Raja has to be credited for writing a story with a lot of mind games involved. Usage of technology to convey a story with a social message is interesting and works in favor of the film.  

 

Cinematographer Ramji brings the sheen, gloss and strength to the frames with his lighting and angle. Songs don’t protract the proceedings and Hip Hop Adhi’s BGM and tracks gel with the story.

 

Toting it up, Raja delivers a commercial entertainer with all its necessary elements in an intelligent manner and in an engaging fashion.