Thangalaan is a Tamil film which was released in the South markets on August 15. But it didn’t get a release in the rest of India and its original Tamil and Hindi dubbed version were released today. The story is set in 1850 and is about a brave village chief facing atrocities from the British and a wealthy landlord while trying to find gold. A few scenes of the film stand out and director Pa Ranjith uses his technical skills to give a fine cinematic experience to the viewers. However, the film is too loud and messy. So much happens in several scenes that it gets overwhelming and heavy for the viewers to process the goings-on. A few scenes shot at night are difficult to comprehend. As a result, one doesn’t root for the protagonist. The narrative also gets abstract. Lastly, the soundtrack is poor. Chiyaan Vikram, however, gives his life and soul to the performance like never before. Parvathy Thiruvothu gets into the skin of her role and does a great job. Malavika Mohanan is terrifying and plays a difficult role with perfection. Daniel Caltagirone (Lord Clement), Hari Krishnan (Varada), Preeti Karan (Arasani), Arjun Anbudan (Asoka) and others are fine. All in all, Thangalaan is avoidable.
My rating – * ½ out of 5!