Review: Thaana Serndha Kootam

Director: Vignesh Shivn
Music Director: Anirudh Ravichander
Cinematography: Dinesh Krishnan B
Cast: Suriya, Ramya Krishnan, Karthik, Keerthy Suresh, Senthil, Nandha, Senthil, Brahmanantham, Kalai Arasan, Yogi Babu, Suresh Menon, Sathyan and others

Thaana Serndha Kootam, which has been made after buying the remake rights of the super hit Hindi film, Special 26, is a mixed bag.

Director Vignesh Shivn, who impressed audiences with his skills in films like Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, does a fantastic job with a vast portion of this film. However, a small portion of the film, its climax to be more particular, is where the film falls flat.

Iniyan (Suriya) is someone whose childhood dream is to become a CBI officer. His dad Porselvan (Thambi Ramaiah) is also a sincere CBI officer. As fate would have it, he has to report to the Joint director of the agency, a corrupt person called Uththaman (Suresh Menon). Naturally, Uththaman and Porselvan consider each other as enemies. The enemity is sparked off by an incident in which Porselvan sees Uththaman taking a bribe from a big shot whose premises is being raided by the CBI.

Porselvan writes an anonymous letter to his superiors, informing them about Uththaman’s misdeeds. However, Uththaman sidesteps the inquiry and also goes on to find out who is behind the letter. From that moment on, he harbours a grudge against Porselvan and waits for an opportunity to get even with him. So, when he gets to know Porselvan’s son Iniyan is appearing for an interview to enter the agency, Uththaman, who heads the interview panel, ensures Iniyan is kept out.

Frustrated by the outcome in particular and corruption in society in general, Iniyan chooses to fight fire with fire. He forms a team using a few people who are desperate for jobs and trains them to pretend like they are officers from the investigating agency. The team then spots corrupt bigshots and raids them. The money from the raids are then spent on the team members and for welfare activities. Just when Iniyan plans one last raid, the law catches up with him…

Making a remake of a hit film is always a challenge. Especially because the film is bound to be compared with its predecessor. It is a risk that directors who make remakes take. Vignesh Shivn has tried to reduce this risk factor by keeping only the crux of the original as it is and changing all the remaining portions. So, technically speaking, the film is by and large, different from the original Special 26.

For instance, in the Hindi film, Kajal plays an honest teacher who is ready to elope with the hero whereas in Thaana Serndha Kootam, Keerthi Suresh plays Madhu, an orphan who is a small-time thief, who occasionally joins the gang when it goes on raids.

Again, in the Hindi film, Anupam Kher played the role of the main co-conspirator. In Vignesh Shivn’s film, that role is reprised by Ramya Krishnan who plays the character of Jhansi Rani. Moreover, there was only one investigating officer in Special Chabbis wheras in Thaana Serndha Kootam there are two officers– Karthik and Suresh Menon. While Karthik plays the role of Kurinji Vendan, Suresh Menon plays the role of Uththaman.

That isn’t all. There is this character of Anandan (Kalaiarasan) who commits suicide after not being able to get a job in the police department and after suspecting his wife of infidelity. The Tamil version also reeks of feminism, while the Hindi film was more or less an exact reproduction of a true incident. Be it the scene where Ramya Krishnan justifies her crimes saying, ‘When men alone can commit different crimes, why can’t women too commit a few crimes?’ or the sequence where the character of Anandan commits suicide suspecting infidelity, it is clear that Suriya and his director are more interested in impressing women audiences even at the cost of hurting men’s sentiments.

The initial portions of the film and the climax of the film too have been altered considerably. The highlight of Special 26 was its brilliant climax. It would have been great if the Thaana Serndha Kootam team had retained the original climax itself. However, that is not to be.

While Vignesh Shivn’s alterations in the beginning enhance the output, the manner in which the film’s climax has been changed, make it come across as yet another redundant commercial film with a predictable ending. An unnecessary fight sequence and some punch lines aimed at bolstering the image of the hero in the climax bring down the class of the film drastically.

Anirudh’s music is one of the highlights of the film. Three of the songs in the film have already emerged as either hits or chartbusters and understandably so. The background score throughout the film is just perfect. The film also has a number of gifted performances from its actors. Suriya, Keerthi Suresh, Ramya Krishnan, Nandha, Kalai Arasan and Sathyan play their parts convicingly and with flair. Yogi Babu, who appears for just a few minutes, steals the show with his mannerisms and his swift retorts.

On the whole, if you are someone who hasn’t watched Special 26 and are watching Thaana Serndha Kootam, chances are that you will like the film. However, if you are someone who has already enjoyed Special 26, then, chances are that you will begin comparing this film with its Hindi version and eventually find this one falling behind in terms of class and content.