THERI * Vijay59 * Atlee * GV Prakash * Kalaippuli Thanu *

[ajaybaskar]

Theri

Post 2004, I rate this film as the 3rd best after Thuppakki and Kaththi in bringing out the best in Vijay. The story is nothing new. A sincere cop, nearly killed by the villain, manages to survive for his kid. He leads a different life in another part of the country, only to be found again by the villain. But Atlee ensures that it is told in the right way, hitting the right chords with the audience. Bravo!!

Vijay excels in his most convincing cop role till date. I especially loved the undercurrent in the scenes involving Vijay and Mahendran. The romance portions with Samantha was superb and the mom-son chemistry was fabulous. It was a treat to watch Vijay in such an uber cool avatar. பின்னீட்டீங்க தலைவா...

Samantha's luck with Vijay continues with Theri. More often than not, the love portions in an action film acts as a speed breaker. Even in a film like Kaththi, I felt it took some pace off. But here, it worked really well. Amy's role was needless though. Except for listening to the flashback, she doesn't have anything to do. I hope the directors let go the cliché of having a second heroine if the first heroine dies in the film.

Rajendran gets a lifetime role which is quite similar to the ones Goundamani used to do when he was at his peak. A faithful assistant to the hero. Few of his one liners brought the roof down. Radhika has a small role for her abilities. But she has done full justice to it. The real surprises though were Mahendran and Nainika. The former's mannerisms reminded me of Rajinikanth in many places. And I don't remember any other mass entertainer where the hero doesn't even touch the villain once through the film. Well thought!! Nainika was a delight to watch, especially for her witty replies to her dad. There was always a danger of the kid going overboard but thankfully it didn't happen

GVP's songs didn't appeal to me much on the first listen. But they worked really well in the film and the score was also pulsating. A memorable 50th outing!!

George C Williams and art director Muthuraj (has done a cameo as the villainous Chetaa) have done a fabulous job. The market fight is the right example to show how good the cinematography,art direction and stunt choreography was.

The film is not without flaws. The last 30 minutes could've been much better. I would like to quote the example of Sethupathi, another cop film that i recently enjoyed. The mass of the hero is boosted with some intelligent and clap worthy scenes. Theri was missing that. It was like a smooth flight affected by turbulence while landing. Second, the abrupt cuts. Even though the screenplay is racy enough, the cuts were so irregular in an otherwise neat presentation.

On the whole, its a memorable film for Vijay fans and like any Vijay blockbuster, the film is continuing to draw large crowds to the theatre. A 75% full hall on a weekday in Dubai is something i have not seen. I witnessed that yesterday.

That was THERI,Babeeeey!!!

Sent from my SM-G531F using Tapatalk