My interest in Tamil movies is only few weeks younger to my interest to Malayalam movies. In a way, it was Tamil movies which made a movie buff for quite some time.
The Heroes like Rajani, Kamal, Vijay, Ajith, Vikram…I like them all. I liked the Heroines in the like of Ambika, Sreedevi, Radha, Khusbu, Lyla, Sneha…too. Somewhere in between I become a fan of Tamil films. Beautiful films, films which convey a message, films which pass a never give up attitude, films which calls to take up the responsibilities and challenges in life (individually and jointly)…. Not only these, there were more reasons for me to watch Tamil movies. Music of Ilayaraja and A R Rahman was one other factor where beautiful choreography and richness of nature in every film and good action scenes were bonus.
So, my expectations are limited from a Tamil movie though I used to get gems of films in Tamil occasionally. Kadhal Kondein, Kannathil Muthamitten, Housefull etc. are examples. However, 90% of Tamil movies used to give me a feel good impression which I can depend to distress me at the end of any busy day.
Let me not extend my out of the topic discussion any further, but give you my observations on the film ’Thotta’ which means ’bullet’.
As one can expect from the name itself, the movie is an action packed one but romance is added as the motivation in the second half.
Thotta (Jeevan) is an orphan since childhood where his mother was killed by his father when she approached him to take care of his own child. A corrupt police inspector got Thotta in a night raid and kept him as a helping hand. He trained him to become a pick pocket expert and later to a hardcore villain who doesn’t dare to challenge and kill anybody. The grown up Thotta is the gang leader and the main pawn in the hand of the inspector (Sampathraj). Everything goes as per the wish of the mentor until Thotta get in love with a girl named Nalini (Priyamani) and later the inspector generate a night’s interest on Nalini. It is a typical action movie plot and the story only tends to be a bit deviated in the climax but not for good.
The director Selva obviously selected proven track to test the pair in which he bought some excellent moments and succeed to an extent. There is nothing new in the story, but with we can sit through it without much boring. Songs, dance, fight, sentiments all added in required proportions. With a super hero like Vijay or Vikram in the role of Thotta, the film would have been a huge hit, but we cannot see virtual movies but only can imagine. The climax was too dramatic and defeated the mood the film was creating.
Jeevan gave a superb performance. He looks cute, innocent and lovable but when he fires the devil look too comes to his face. The character was given full freedom to show brutal power and he did exactly so, as required by the plot. Priyamani performed her role well with a bit of glamour but she was brilliant in those sentimental scenes. (I could hear a lot of giggles and clapping when she first appears on the screen.) Inspector Sampathraj was good where rest of the cast was ok.
Music of the film is again average where a song Mugham Poo, still stay with me. Choreography was good, where the song shot at Athirappilly permitted to travel to the place without a ticket.
Action scenes were top class.
There are some brilliant scenes in the film, especially the way Thotta kills his father, Nalini’s reaction when Thotta meet her after the police interrogation etc. The police interrogation was merciless where the head to head meeting point between Thotta and the Inspector was breathtaking.
Overall, the movie is an average one worth watching if you really want to watch it. It is not a complete disappointment. It offers all the normal ingredients but nothing much special. If you are ordering for a normal meal, it is good. For special days, wait for some special films.
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My rating : 2.5 stars