Review for PATHU THALA:
(REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI R)
•Language: TAMIL
•Duration: 02 Hours 32 Minutes.
•Genre: Crime Thriller.
- POSITIVES:
1: Story
2: Screenplay
3: Screen presence of STR
4: Performance of Gautham Karthik
5: Cinematography
6: Editing
7: Lighting
8: Climax action sequences
- NEGATIVES:
1: Direction
2: Background Score.
3: Average songs
4: Predictability
•ONE WORD: An average crime thriller with the brilliant performance of STR.
•STORY IDEA:
The story begins with chief minister Arunmozhi (Santhosh prathap) announcing a vaccine welfare scheme where Deputy Chief Minister Naanjilaar Gunasekaran (Gautham Menon ) clashes with him to grab the position of Chief Minister.The deputy CM arrives late to the event but still supports Arunmozhi and this scenario resembles TamilNadu politics. In a short time CM Arunmozhi goes missing .AGR @AG Ravanan (STR) is a dire gangster who has the government in his hands where Guna @Sakthivel (Gautham Karthik ) is a gangster enters into the wing of AGR who is an undercover cop. Guna is assigned in the mission of knowing the information about the missing CM and gathering proofs against the AGR. Will Guna accomplish the mission is the climax of the movie
•DETAILED REVIEW:
Pathu Thala is a Tamil language crime film directed by Obeli N. Krishna and written by Narthan and K. Ram Sri Lakshman. The film is adapted from the hit Kannada film Mufti by Narathan and R. S. Ramakrishnan writes the dialogues for Pathu Thala. Obeli N. Krishna along with the director had also written the screenplay for the film. The movie is produced by Jayantilal Gada and K. E. Gnanavel Raja under the production companies of Pen Studios and Studio Green. With a running time of 152 minutes, the film is currently running in theatres with a censor certificate of U/A.
Whenever a gangster movie is made it usually follows a template like how the hero becomes a don, his backstories, and gradually how he fights his villain and how he dominates society is the pattern which we usually use to see. In the film Pathu Thala, this same routine is followed in a different style. Rather than focusing on his flashback the movie already establishes the hero as a dreaded don. That’s the only difference with Pathu Thala when compared with other films associated with this gangster film genre. So personally I would say that the film Pathu Thala stands on an average rank, it’s neither bad nor great.
Pathu Thala is adapted from the Kannada film Mufti with several changes. Mufti was a huge hit, and it had strong characters and moments to thrill us. So when comparing, I would say Pathu Thala is a decent remake, but not a great adaptation because of the average direction. The direction by Obeli N. Krishna could have been better because his way of execution had failed partially to create an impact. The plot and screenplay of the movie were crammed with many thrilling moments but the crucial scenes which were supposed to create an impact didn’t rise up to the desired level. So when an important scene was ending it didn’t provide any feeling of excitement, the crucial scenes were having the faith of a normal or ordinary feel. So I couldn’t acquire a proper eagerness and curiosity to know what is next, the movie from the beginning till the end went on the same graph.
The occurrences and events in the story are mostly predictable but what made me engage was the brilliant screen presence of Silambarasan. The first half was fully played by Gautham Karthik, his motive and his aim were more focused. Just before the interval block, STR makes his appearance and a dominating performance of STR will be able to be seen in the entire second half. So I loved the second half more, the second part of the movie was more engaging than the first half. The first half felt a little bit dragged, it was slow, and the movie was taking a lot of time to enter into the main premise. The political games for money and rivalry between STR and GVM were interesting, it was easily relatable. The villain character of GVM was written nicely, he was suited to do that role and the villain shades in his character had given a tough fight to the protagonist. The rivalry between the hero and villain had the right momentum, it was written out in the screenplay fairly and gang war was occupied with some catchy moments. As I said the story and screenplay were promising but what went wrong was the direction of Obeli N. Krishna.
The main three central characters in the film are ‘AGR’ played by Silambarasan, ‘Shaktivel’ played by Gautham Karthik and ‘Naanjilaar Gunasekaran’ played by Gautham Vasudev Menon. These three characters lift and carry the movie forward and three of these characters were beautifully written in the script. The motives of these three characters, how they will be connected, and what changes these characters make were evidently composed in the whole screenplay. So the three characters were strong enough to hold the movie but unfortunately, the female character of ‘Leela Thompson’ played by Priya Bhavani Shankar was weak. Her character was not given that much importance and the scenes made for her could have been written better. The character ‘Samudra’ played by Malayalam actress Anu Sithara has an important role and it was written perfectly. The sentiments had worked out in her character and the combination scene with STR had given the emotional feeling in the right balance.
The story and screenplay were luminous for Pathu Thala but the glow was not found in the direction. The overall direction was mediocre, director Obeli N. Krishna had the chance but he didn’t take up the script generously. The main problem associated with Pathu Thala is whenever a significant scene is ending it is not giving a fully satisfied feeling. The impact was very less, all the major scenes in the movie ended in a typical familiar way and till the end, this trouble was making my viewing experience dull. The climax of Mufti and Pathu Thala is entirely different, the climax of Pathu Thala is happening in a mansion but in Mufti it’s on open ground. The action sequences like gunshots, brutal killing with large knives and fight sequences made the climax of Pathu Thala look more attractive but still, the ending didn’t give complete satisfaction. It’s because of the direction, in the end how the hero kills the villain was weak and didn’t build the wow factor. If Pathu Thala was directed by someone who was more experienced in making Gangster movies this film could have been ranked among the best crime thrillers in the Tamil film industry.
The screen presence of STR was unbelievable in Pathu Thala, he did a fantastic performance as AGR. Silambarsan’s attitude, dialogue delivery, natural acting and the way he did the action sequences were enriched by his swag and style. The outlook was also good, it fitted perfectly for the character and till the end, he never went off from the character. The emotional sequences were handled perfectly, he did the sentimental scene of brother-sister love in the right manner and affection was able to be seen in his eyes. The personality and satire of a gangster were flawlessly caught in the performance of STR, and I will say he was the saving grace of this average movie. Gautham Karthik did an honest performance, his undercover police officer role was crucial and he had given his best. His dialogue delivery still needs improvement. Gautham Vasudev Menon did the negative character and it was excellent, his villain shades and the way he understood the character was not having flaws. Anu Sithara as the sister of STR did complete justice to her character. Priya Bhavani Shankar did a decent performance but sadly her character was not that strong enough.
The musical work by A.R Rahman including the songs and background score didn’t impress me much. The songs felt normal and the tracks had the regular style of A.R Rahman. The song “Namma Satham” had some good beats but reminded his usual musical style and the item song “Raawadi” was just ok. The remaining two songs “Nee Singam Dhan” and “Ninaivirukka” circled around with the usual style of Rahman composition. The lack of background score was evident in the full film, the scenes which were supposed to make us thrill were not having the backup of some good background tunes. So the overall musical work was below the standard level and it was disappointing. The cinematography was good, and the action sequences in the climax were loaded with good unexpected shots and angles. The editing was fine, with matching transitions and the duration didn’t feel stretchy. The lighting techniques used for the climax were stunning and the action choreographer did a great job because the stunts of STR in the climax were ravishing.
•CONCLUSION:
So, personally the film Pathu Thala had given me an average experience. Even though the story is predictable the screenplay was written out brilliantly but sadly the direction by Obeli N. Krishna didn’t live up to the standards. The screen presence of Silambarasan as AGR is outstanding, it was STR’s acting that kept the movie from falling down.
Therefore, to conclude, if the movie was directed by someone else it would have been better. I am not fully satisfied with Pathu Thala but if you love gangster movies and if you are a fan of Silambarsan you can book the tickets but better not go with huge expectations.
- VERDICT: A watchable gangster movie.
- RATING: 3/5
- A Review by ARUNJYOTHI. R
