THANGAMAGAN MOVIE REVIEW

After an exciting line of movies this year consisting of Anegan, Maari, Shamitabh, Dhanush finishes 2015, which by the way has already turned out to be a very productive year for him, on a high note with Thanga Magan.

 

Thanga Magan is a survival story of a lower middle class family in a society that is corrupted from the very top till the end of the food chain. That said, the film is not all about the struggles. It has all the required elements to keep the audiences entertained throughout this 2 hour affair.

 

The first half of the story revolves around the family and friends of Dhanush. The incidents and moments portrayed by the inner circle of actors, consisting of Dhanush, KS Ravikumar, Radhika, Satish, Samantha, Amy Jackson and Adith are a joy to watch.

 

Be it the looks and energy of Dhanush, the quirks of Satish, the beauty and the vibrance of Amy, experience and the relatable factor provided elegantly by KS Ravikumar and Radhika Sarath Kumar, the romance brought in by Samantha, all put together the first half is filled with love, laughs and other common emotions.

 

The film takes a U-turn from a breezy tale to an action mode in the second half after an infiltration by KS Ravikumar's boss, played by Jayaprakash and the consequent disturbances within the inner circle.

 

One cannot say the second half is as packed as the first. The familiar scene structures, melodramas and forced punch dialogues in the second half is a downside, mainly due to the deja-vu that it creates.

 

The first half on the contrary is a roll. The romance between Dhanush and Amy and the underlying humour create freshness in the narration. Amy's drunken act and the slaps are particularly hilarious and a job well done, and major share of credits must go to Andrea too, who has dubbed for Amy in the film.

 

Satish also has a lot of scoring points in the first half and does well to make an impact. Samantha strengthens the entertainment value in the later part of the first half.  The awkwardness, subtle humour and most of all the practical, sensible structure of the first night sequence of Samantha and Dhanush is one of the most memorable point in the film. Samantha also brings a charm to a comparatively weaker second half. Adith, who plays Dhanush's cousin gets a meaty part and performs well too.

 

Thanga Magan is also a visually pleasing movie. The choice of colours used by art director Vijay Murugan inside Dhanush's house together with simple costumes, has enabled the new cinematographer A Kumaran to put his visual senses into good use. The cinematographer's work in the interval block is noteworthy. Editor Rajesh Kumar also shares credit for the same sequence and the creative cuts in the song Tak Bak. Anirudh's songs show immense maturity and the BGMs are under played, suiting the film.

 

Director Velraj has a knack for good romance  and his choice of mass moments seem to work pretty well, despite its over use in Tamil films. However, his screenplay, which keeps shuttling between moods in rapid successions, keep the audiences distracted.

 

Lastly, the driving force of Thanga Magan, Dhanush, as an actor and a producer has done justice to the project. The energy he has brought in the first half and the responsibility he has shown as an actor in the second half of the film is commendable.

 

On the whole, Thanga Magan does justice to its cause, which is to entertain, but doesn't keep the audience engrossed.