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| Edited By: Latha Srinivasan |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Mar 25, 2016, 11:07 PM IST
Film: Thozha
Cast: Nagarjuna, Karthi, Tamannaah Bhatia
Director: Vamshi Paidipally
When this Telugu-Tamil bilingual film was announced, it was known that the film would be a remake of the 2011 French dramedy The Intouchables, directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano. How director Vamshi Paidipally would make the film suit local sensibilities was the big question. The story revolves around two men— Vikram Aditya (Nagarjuna), a paraplegic billionaire who has everything in the world but no family and Seenu (Karthi), man who is up to no good and has nothing but his estranged family. Tamannaah plays Vikram’s secretary in the film. They hire Seenu as Vikram’s caretaker. It’s evident that Vikram and Seenu have nothing in common but how they form a bond and how their relationship evolves forms the rest of the story.
At the outset, one must applaud director Vamshi Paidipally for doing a wonderful job in adapting the French dramedy to suit the Tamil audience. He has retained the soul of the film and his main leads, Nagarjuna and Karthi, carry the film on their shoulders beautifully. Nagarjuna has given a subdued yet touching performance while Karthi keeps us in splits with his antics. The director shows the bromance between the two men as a highlight of the film. The film has everything, from love to anger to tears and sadness. Of late, Nagarjuna has been experimenting with roles and after seeing the film one feels only he could have pulled off this role. Karthi is tailor-made for the role of Seenu. His local Tamil slang and his body language are a delight to watch. The cinematography of the film is worthy of special mention.
Considering the movie is an emotional drama, the run time could have been cut down and some of the scenes trimmed considerably. The music is by Gopi Sundar and the BGM in the film is particularly loud for some reason. This made the viewing uncomfortable. A number of songs were not required in the movie as they really didn't add much in terms of taking the story forward. In fact, they actually interrupted the flow of the film.
Thozha is an emotional drama that celebrates bromance. It's meant for those who want to go on an emotional rollercoaster and come out smiling.
Rating: ***
