A must watch movie. Review on Thavamai Thavamirundhu Movie

I saw the movie tonight and I am writing this review half an hour later. I felt so emotional on seeing this movie and thought that it would be appropriate to share my views with other MSmambers.

It is about the story of a father(raj kiran) and a mother(Saranya), who is adamant that his children should have a good education and a good future, the hardships and heartbreaks he faces in the process and how his efforts have been justified. The entire movie is shown in a flashback interspesed with the present.It is a movie that really makes you think on your priorities, relations and values needed for a satisfied life. The movie depicts the right attitude and gratitude of a son towards his parents at their old age.

The strength of the movie lies in its characterisation and screenplay. The characters are so real and lifelike. They are like any other people we know of and whom we see on the streets. Also the dialogues are so natural and well written that we actually are able to empathise with the characters and gel with the movie. Especially the dialogues of saranya and the elder daughter-in-law are so natural that we can actually recount such incidents .

Raj kiran has given excellent perfomance and I think it is a role of a lifetime for him.He has underplayed the character very well and has conveyed the anguish of a father when his sons have deserted him selfishly. All his scenes deserve applause but my favourites are the last scene when he talks to his son and the scene where he comes to know that his son was caught in a prostitution raid.

Saranya as the silent supporting pillar to the husband is excellent. Her dialogue delivery is excellent depicting the typical village accent. Her scenes of confrontation with the daughter in law are excellent and makes us laugh.

Cheran as the younger son is excellent. But I felt that he should improve his expressions. I felt that he was giving the same expression throughout the movie. Also I felt he was crying too much. Infact about one-third of the second half is only the hardships faced by cheran and his wife when they come chennai and there is quite a lot of crying there.

Padmapriya is cute and acts decently. She impresses as the younger daughter- in-law who takes care of their parents well.

The rest of the cast is also good. Worth mentining are Ilavarasu(as a deaf employee of raj kiran), the elder son and his wife(new faces). They have acted very naturally and you almost feel like giving them a tight slap when they trouble their parents.

I personally liked the sequences in the begining when the father takes them to school and the sequence in the second half where the treatment of the younger son towards his parents . Although the sequences are pretty long, I feel they are worth it. The background in the second sequence was superb and it gelled very well with the scenes.

Another noteworthy point of mention is the total absence of vulgarity. even in the sequences where they are chances of vulgarity which many other directors might have utilised, cheran has showed a finesse and decency in depicting them.

Music is good. But I couldnt remember many songs.

Cheran as a director has scored very well but as an actor has miles to go. This movie is one more feather in his cap.

One more thing. If you love typical masala movies , then this movie is not for you.