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Thalaiva Movie Review

By Siddhartha
"Thalaiva" (Leader) had a worldwide release sans Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry on 9th August 2013. The reason for the film not getting released in its home state was for the reason that a lesser known student outfit had threatened to blow the theatres which would go ahead with the screenings. Good 11 days after its release looks like the student outfit has come to a compromise and they have allowed the film to release in its home state and its neighboring Pondicherry. The important thing is that the makers have been asked to remove the tagline from the title which read as "Time to Lead" indicating that there is something amiss than originally stated.

The film begins in the year 1988 in Mumbai's Dharavi slum where its current leader Varadharaja Mudaliar meets a tragic end and in the ensuing violence Anna (Sathyaraj) is elected as the next leader. Wary of the position he holds and the loss he suffers, he sends his son Viswa along with Ratnam (Nasser).

Years pass by and in the current year there is Viswa (Vijay) in-charge of a dance troupe in Australia along with Logu (Santhanam) who happens to be Ratnam's son. Viswa then meets Meera and after a few scenes, cupid strikes between the two.

The duo along with Suresh (Meera's dad) come to India to meet Anna and finalise things. Things take a different turn when they land in Mumbai and after that an incident changes Viswa's life upside down. Viswa then decides to take on the mantle to lead the people of Dharavi to betterment. 

What is the incident that changes Viswa and what happens thereafter is in this film which is a good 180 minutes long. The film fares well in parts while it disappoints in places. While watching the film especially the scenes that unfolds in Dharavi one cannot forget linking those scenes with Maniratnam's "Nayagan" which could have been avoided.

Abhimanyu Singh plays the bad guy locking horns with Vijay but he lacks the sting required for the role. Supporting actors include Ponvannan, Manobala and Ragini Nandwani to name a few play their roles to satisfaction.

Vijay in a hero centric role holds his forte while Amala Paul hardly has any scope to perform . G V Prakash Kumar's music is a disappointment sans a couple of songs. Nirav Shah's cinematography is brilliant while Antony's editing could have been crisper.

With so many hurdles and not to mention Actor Vijay's stature as a mass hero at stake, this film should do decent business at the box-office. Director A L Vijay after a lackluster outing in his last two films should feel a bit better with this one. However, he needs to break out of his mould to make a film that will surprise the industry and masses in a positive manner if he needs to make a mark for himself.

"Thalaiva" turns out to be a decent entertainer.
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