Thoongaavanam

This movie really needs your patience ; dramatically suspense and thriller is pretty and cinematography is good as whole movie rounds around a hotel.

It is not disputed that Kamal is arguably the best in the current generation of actors. He keeps increasing the bar for performances constantly with his every other movie, constantly experimenting and not falling to a stereotype. With Uttama Villain, he went on a indulgent self admiration spree, aided by the admiration of the director Ramesh, it went to funny levels of self appraisal and portrayal by Kamala Hassan. He was back to his elements in Papanasam, (even though I personally attributed the credit to Jeetu Joseph, may be partly). But with Thoongavanam, the Kamal is back with a Bang as we know him. The movie features no frills in terms of Songs, Comedy track, too much SFX or spell binding performances like Dashavataram etc.. The plot and screen play alone keeps the audience gripped, handled nicely by the new director and all round great performances by all the characters. There are movies which only Kamal can make for example Dashavataram, Anbe Sivam etc...this is not one of them, but a must watch for a true Kamal fan. Hope it makes much needed money for RK films and Waiting eagerly for the release of VR2.

Another movie for Kamal and only for Kamal with no songs. A movie which is in par with Hollywood standards that focuses only on the story content rather than any commercial elements.

Casting: A perfect casting and everyone have done their part so well.

Story: As everyone knows that this movie is a remake of the French movie "Nuit Blanche" aka "Sleepless Night", the story and screenplay are almost same which I heard from others as I didn't watch the original version. A normal story for a classy thriller film with a difference being that it travels in a single location.

Cinematography: Pretty decent and doesn't spoil the mood of the scenes.

Music: Gibran's rerecording is good and doesn't irritate or make you feel amateurish. The song which is placed at the end credits is good too.

Lady Lead: Good role for Trisha after so many years and she has done it well except for the stunt sequences. She looks good too in her costume and way better than she is looking in the textiles showroom advertisements. It's time for her to take such roles or a matured mother character like jyothika did in her last few films.

Stunts: I should definitely mention about the stunts in the movie as this movie has one of the best stunts that have ever filmed in Tamil cinema. They are so realistic which are similar to that of the stunts in the Hollywood's Bourne series (Not exactly though). I wish all Tamil movies follow these kinda stunts henceforth even in mass commercial masala movies.

Screenplay & Direction: Didn't know whether the screenplay had been altered to Tamil audience or not, but it is so engaging throughout the movie and there will not be any scene where u will feel to move out your eyes from the screen. Also screenplay has been done by Kamal Hassan himself. Yet another movie with the name of the director is being replaced with someone else's name ( Rajesh M Selva ) instead of Kamal Hassan himself I guess as the style shows (Not Sure though).

Hero: ULAGANAYAGAN Kamal Hassan, what else do you wanna know, you can feel his presence in each and every frame. He looks ten years younger with his rugged look as well as classy in his blazer throughout the movie. His ruggedness suited him so well in the stunts sequences 'Semma Thoranai'. Unlike Papanasam, there is no much scope for delivering his acting skills in this movie but still there is a scene where he talks with his kidnapped son in phone and you can see a glimpse of his trademark reactions for a second. It's absolutely his screen presence which makes this movie at this level. If you are a fan of thriller movies, this movie is one good choice.

I doubt whether the movie will have a good box office run at the B and C centers as the movie will satisfy only the audiences of A centers.

As a die hard Kamal fan, I would like to say that I love this movie. But it pains me to say that, from a critical point of view, this movie is just a slightly below the average "thriller". The first half hour of the movie is too slow and has character development for people who have really small roles. Kamal seems to have robbed center stage from all the big actors in the movie. The screenplay is something that one would not expect in a thriller. It is not as gripping as I thought it would be. It is a well-known fact that Kamal Haasan is extremely well rounded in all of the fields. But I feel that he needs to take a break from writing screenplay. Prakash Raj did well as the villain, as usual. but in the end, he was a bit of a comedy piece. Kishore also performed really well. Moving on to Diwakar (Kamal). This character was so easily and nonchalantly portrayed by Kamal, that I bet he could have done it in his sleep. This role is in no way challenging for the veteran. As a result, his expressions are great and he has a booming screen presence. Yugi Sethu's role is thoroughly disappointing. It felt like half boiled rice. His acting seems to been worsened since his absence in Tamil Cinema, and he felt like a mismatch for his role. Ghibran seems to be improving at a very fast rate. The BGM suited the theme of the movie well and made sure that the audience didn't doze off during the slightly boring sections of the film. Thoongavanam would have fared better without the subtle comedy. It felt unnecessary and ruined the momentum of the movie by making the audience burst to laughter. The movie seems to be a bit confused because its trying to be a serious thriller as well as a comedy. You can't always have your cake and eat it. Half-way through the movie, it became way too easy to predict what was going to happen. All in all, this movie is one that you can watch only once. Its just a speck of dust when compared to movies like Vishwaroopam and Dasavatharam. But, for die hard Kamal fans, this is a MUST watch.

Thoongaavanam.... What to say about this film.. This is not just a film.. It is a course for young directors how Indian films should be.. No actor dares to act in Indian film without songs.. Ulaga Nayagan already acted thrice in films which doesn't contain songs are Pesum padam, Kuruthipunal, a man like you and now for the fourth time in Thoongaa vanam. Mass actor with class skills will be always one and only kamal hassan. And once again it is proved in this film. A strong crew consisting Prakash Raj, Kishore, Sampath, Trisha Krishnan, Aasha Sharath enough to make audience to go to this film.. But the bgm score which is the vital role of this film made it to the core.. Action sequences doesn't look like Indian way in which a hero will fought with 100 fighters, flying scenes, etc etc. Excellent stunt choreography made this film an action pack thriller.. An authentic story, screenplay, acting from the team. But Kamal Hasaan the man who stole the show with his marana mass acting.. Trisha, Prakash Raj, Kishore did enough what the film wants. The credits song after the film got over was the real suspense to the audience, unexpected. Very well planned screenplay made it like a kuruthipunal, vikram, vetri vizha which even after 20 years will be fresh for the cinema lovers... Everyone must go and watch in the theaters.. Thoongaavanam- a new path for Indian film makers.