Review – Thambi

Film: Thambi
Director: Jeethu Joseph
Cast: Karthi, Jyothika, Nikhila Vimal, Sathyaraj, Seetha, Anson Paul, Ammu Abirami, Sowcar Janaki, Master Ashwanth, Ilavarasu and others
Music: Govind Vasantha
Cinematographer: R D Rajashekar
Rating: 3.5 stars

Jeethu Joseph’s Thambi comes across as an enjoyable entertainer. The director provides enough twists through out this engaging thriller to keep you guessing and interested. Just like Drishyam, which worked as an investigative thriller on the one hand and as a family drama on the other, this film too works both as a murder mystery and also as a family drama.

The story starts off on a simple note. Sathyaraj is a popular politician in Mettupalayam, living with his wife (Seetha), mother (Sowcar Janaki) and daughter Parvathy (Jyotika). He is one of the wealthiest people in the region, owning over a 1000 acres of land. Hareesh Peradi is Sathyaraj’s close friend and confidante. His daughter Sanjana (Nikhila Vimal) is a doctor by profession. Not just Sathyaraj and Peradi, their families too are close.

Sathyaraj’s biggest rival is another politician from the same region, who happens to be backing a corporate which is looking to acquire land belonging to locals and then build hotels on it. Sathayaraj opposes the move tooth and nail and files a case against the firm looking to acquire land in court. The two sides are engaged in a bitter court battle.

It is under these circumstances that Sathyaraj begins to miss his son Saravanan, who ran away from home almost 15 years ago. The aged politician keeps nurturing the hope that some day, he might still be able to find his son back and who will eventually be his political successor.

Even as this happens in one part of the country, in another part, there is a man called Vicky(Karthi) who is having the time of his life. Vicky, an orphan, who has grown up to be a street smart guide in Goa, specialises in conning people.

One day, Sathyaraj receives a call from a police inspector in Goa (Ilavarasu) saying that he might have found his long lost son. An excited Sathyaraj hurries to Goa and is promptly shown Vicky. He identifies Vicky as his long lost son Saravanan and takes him back to Mettupalayam with him. Vicky who is now rechristened Saravanan happily goes along with him, because he has connived with the police inspector in Goa to con Sathyaraj and inherit his property. Saravanan has a big challenge. He has to convince everybody in Sathyaraj’s family and his friend Hareesh Peradi’s family that he is indeed the lost son.

Everybody in both families shower love on Saravanan, save two people. One person from the family who is cold to him right from the day of his arrival is his sister Parvathi. The other person who is suspicious of him is a police inspector called Karan (Anson Paul), a close friend of the family.

As Saravanan begins to plan carefully to deceive everybody around him to proclaim himself as the heir to Sathyaraj, he starts realising that things aren’t as simple as they seem…

The film starts off on a slow note. The first few minutes of the film are unimpressive to put it mildly. But then, after say, 15 minutes, the story begins to pick up pace. In other words, the film turns interesting the moment Karthi arrives on screen. It will only be fair to say that this film works primarily because of Karthi’s performance.

The gifted actor breathes life into not just his character but also in to the film. He then holds the story together and carries the entire film on his shoulders.

Nikhila Vimal comes up with a charming performance to add value to the film. She complements Karthi so well on screen and their chemistry together works big time.

Ilavarasu, Sathyaraj, Hareesh Peradi — all of whom are class actors– deliver yet again in this film.

The only actor whose performance fails to impress is that of actress Jyotika. Jyotika has always had a problem of overacting and in this film too, it pulls her performance down. Some of the emotional sequences involving her come across as being exaggerated and artificial, thanks to her overacting. It is not just Jyotika’s fault alone. Frankly speaking, director Jeethu Joseph too will have to share half the blame for this goof up. A skilled director must know when to keep a close up and to whom. He must be aware if whether the actor/actress he has chosen to keep a close up has the requisite skill to pull it off. Clearly, Jyotika flounders in this department.

Except for that one flawed performance, Thambi is a good engaging entertainer that can be watched with the entire family.