Blood baths-offensive language-Inhuman baddies-weird main leads-violent dialogues...So one must be ready to witness such things if he plans to spend time for a BALA movie...THAARAI THAPPATTAI deals with the struggle of traditional artists in this present ADULTerated social functions...It is true that the art lost its value and now it is surviving by sexual and offensive alterations to please this sexually dry society...Bala excellently depicts this struggle with the help of a drama troop lead by Sannaasai(Sasikumar)...This troop mainly survives because of its lady dancer Sooravali(Varalaxmi)...
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Bala is a legend when it comes to characterisation...His leads will be strange and one could wonder whethr he/she is mentally deficient...With respect to Sanaasi played by Sasikumar Bala didnt do any experimentation...It was dissapointing to see Sasikumar as Sasikumar in a Bala movie....When it comes to Sooravali(Varlaxmi) you can feel the presence of Bala...This girl hits the biggies when they approach her with sexual desire and kicks Sanaasi into a temple tank when he tries to convince her for an alliance...One could not sketch a woman character who is a drunk and has ability to bash in offensive language unless his name is Bala...
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But the problem is that his characters went out of their behaviors in second half...Sooravali who is so stubborn in marrying Sannasi changes her mind suddenly and this bold woman suddenly becomes helpless in the hands of villain...In contrast, the always calm Sannaasi suddenly gains power to kick and smash the villain off in climax...I can understand that its cinema...But one can’t expect such things in a Bala cinema...(exclude Avan-Ivan)
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Saamipulavan (played by G.M.Kumar) is a complex character who never lets down his art for others requirements (In the opening scene when he is asked to play music by mixing folk, he points out his son Sanaasi..He feels that his art is gone with his son's era...Later Sanaasi feels that his art is almost gone in this modern Era.Bala symbollicaly tries to convey that the art is becoming worse----->worser -----> worst. Bala could have stretched Samipulavan's role to make a more appealing statement...But he ends that character without going much in deep....
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Bala can build a strong ruthless villain...Who can forget the horryfying Rajendran in Naan Kadavul?? In TT he sketches a blood sucking-inhuman- arrogant villain, Karruapiah(played by the excellent new find Suresh)...His portions go away from Bala's artistic visionary and transforms into an unbearable story line dealt in a violating blood filled screenplay...This is the place where the focus shifts from Bala's main ambition to his passionate story...It would hav been memorable if the movie explains more about the dying art....
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Isaignani was brilliant when he tries to elevate the already intensifying scenes..but looked too weak when he tries to fill in the gaps of a scene....Aatakari Maaman Ponnu track and Vandhana Vandhana song are premium examples of Maestro's stuff...Chezhian,the cinematographer ensured dark and dry visuals which Bala is fond of...Art direction was good in festival sequences...
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Bala can very well keep an unpredictable climax..We saw it in Sethu,Nantha and even in his latest Paradesi we saw a different climax (The physically and mentally weak hero just cries helplessly rather than hitting the baddies...A realistic and the only possible climax for a realistic life). But in TT we see a climax which is over cooked in Bala style...So those who feel angry on Bala Must note that : The problem is not with Bala it is with Bala's writing..You can suggest to change his ideas, not his methodologies...
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We see a scene where a village koothu being enjoyed if it has dirty jokes and sexually attractive dances...Amudhavanan and his sister do this job just to fill their empty stomach...This scene moves us and whenever we see such koothu in south we cant laugh for thier jokes rather shed tears for their miserable misuse of their art for survival....Hats off Bala !!!
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TT may be good for some ; bad for some ; but it’s a Bala movie, so definitely needs a watch...
