Thambi Review
Star Cast : Karthi, Jyotika, Sathyaraj, Nikhila Vimal
Director : Jeethu Joseph
Director Jeethu Joseph of Drishyam (Papanasam in Tamil) fame, is back with Thambi, an emotional family thriller with a plenty of twists and turns. Being an expert in the genre, the filmmaker manages to keep you riveted as the drama unfolds, even if you may have guessed few delicious twists in the climax!
Gnanamoorthy (Sathyaraj) is a rich landlord and long-term MLA in Gudalur constituency. His son Saravanan gone missing as a teenager but after fifteen years, a cop (Ilavarasu) in Goa manages to find Saravanan who is now a happy-go-lucky tourist guide, a small time crook and con man Vicky (Karthi). Moorthy brings back Saravanan home.
Saravanan's elder sister Parvati (Jyotika) is a sort of recluse and does not talk much since her brother left home. Saravanan is welcomed by his mother (Seetha) his lover Sanjana Nikhila Vimal) and the people around, but its not easy for him to win over Parvathy. He also faces a series of life threats and there are also many issues within the family. On top of it, a few in Gnanamoorthy's close circle doubts Vicky aka Saravanan identity. The rest of the film is all about who tries to kill Saravanan and what exactly happened fifteen years back?
The first half of the film is a breezy family entertainer. Thanks to Karthi's terrific comic timing and screen presence, he engages us throughout. The intermission point ends with a surprise twist which shifts the genre from family entertainer to a suspense thriller. The second half surprises us with his twists and turns, a few which works.
As said earlier, Karthi's performance is undeniably the biggest strength of the film. He steals the show and impresses us with his varied range of expressions. After Karthi, Sathyaraj owns the film with his majestic screen presence and carefully nuanced performance, never reducing the role to a stereotype.
Jyothika scores with an understated performance. The rest of the actors including Master Ashwanth , Ilavarasu, Sowcar Janaki, Anson Paul and Nikhila Vimal are good. On the downside, the twist of Harish Peradi and his character was unwanted and it falls flat. A bit of trimming including Jyotika taking class for kids among few may have made the film crisp. A tighter screenplay would have done wonders to this family entertainer.
Technically RD Rajasekar captures the natural hilly locales with great elan and also sets the right mood for the thriller genre. Govind Vasantha's songs are just okay but his background score is truly top-notch and sounds refreshing compared to the usual re-recording template in Tamil cinema.
Overall, Thambi is an engaging watch for the solid performances of the lead actors and very unlike most thrillers you’ve seen recently.
