'Thani Oruvan' Review: Jayam Ravi and Arvind Swami excel in a well-etched story by M Raja

Rating: 3.5/5

Starring: Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swami, Nayanthara, Mugdha Godse

Directed by: M Raja

What’s it about:

Jayam Ravi and his brother M Raja, the director of the film, come together once again for this film. Interestingly, while their earlier films together have been in the romantic genre this one takes a giant leap into the action thriller space.  

Jayam Ravi plays, Mithran, whose sole aim in life is to eradicate one kingpin who has been spreading social evil and crimes in society. To fulfil this aim he joins the police force and becomes a police officer in the Organised Crime Intelligence Unit. Mithran meets Mahima (Nayanthara) in the training academy but shuns her love because he has a much larger goal in life.

It’s when Mithran takes charge of his posting, he comes into contact with award-winning scientist Siddharth Abhimanyu (Arvind Swami). And his life changes. Who is Siddharth and what his role in society is are questions that are answered next. The mindgames between Mithran and Siddharth and how good vanquishes evil form the rest of the story.

What’s Hot:

While the good versus evil theme may be as old as Adam and Eve, what’s new is how director Raja has treated the subject, his screenplay and taut characterisation. The director has etched the roles of Mithran and Siddharth extremely well – while Mithran is strong and ambitious as the police officer, Siddharth is stylish, suave and extremely controlled.

Jayam Ravi and Arvind Swami play characters that are on par in the film. For Jayam Ravi, the role of Mithran is undoubtedly one of the best in his career. He has moved away from playing the romantic boy-chasing-girl and running around trees script with 'Thani Oruvan' and this is likely to take his career on a different path.

Both actors are a delight to watch on screen. Jayam Ravi is more simple and low-key in his approach and this works really well for Mithran. Arvind Swami uses his facial expressions brilliantly to his minimal dialogues. This is the first time that Arvind Swami has played a string negative role and he’s carried it off well.

Unlike other films where the heroine comes for a few scenes and disappears after a song or two, Raja has made sure that Nayanthara has a strong role in 'Thani Oruvan'. The actress is a natural performer and her role here gives her plenty of scope to perform.

The scenes between Thambi Ramaiah (who plays Arvind Swami’s father) and Arvind Swami are quite hilarious and lighten the mood of the film. Model and Bollywood actress Mugdha Godse is cast as Arvind Swami’s girlfriend and she adds a nice twist to the film.

One must mention Hip Hop Aadhi’s background score for the film as well. The young music director has done a commendable job.

What’s Not:

Some scenes could be trimmed to quicken the pace of the film, especially in the first half.

What to do:

'Thani Oruvan' is likely to be a turning point in Jayam Ravi and his brother director M Raja’s life as well. Don’t miss this film!