Review: Thodari

You’ve got to admit it. Director Prabhu Solomon is a good story teller and that big strength of his is what is likely to rescue his next film Thodari from plunging to its downfall at the box office.

The story, which seems a little far-fetched, is devoid of logic in a number of places but then, thanks to the manner in which it is narrated, one is kept entertained –  at least, for a major portion of the film.

Apart from the logical problems, the film’s script also has its share of factual errors. For instance, there is a person telling Dhanush that he is sure to get the Arjuna Award for his bravery in the film. Arjuna award is presented to sportspersons, not for acts of bravery. Such mistakes only weaken the authenticity of the story and its impact.

Two others, apart from its director Prabhu Solomon, seem to have done exceptional work in this film.

The first is cameraman Vetrivel Mahendran, whose work  transports one to a world of scenic beauty. Some of the visuals are so beautiful and so vividly captured that it is hard not to admire his work.  Be it the lighting or the way the shots have been canned, his work is exemplary and it looks like yet another talented cameraman has announced his presence to the world.

The other person whose work has to be taken note of is actress Keerthy Suresh. Simple and graceful, Keerthy simply steals the show in every single frame that she appears.  Keerthy’s character in the film is exceptionally challenging as on the one hand, she has to look both innocent and confident and on the other,  also come across as a not-so-intelligent girl. Keerthy seems to have had no difficulty handling this character. In fact, she seems to have relished the opportunity.

Credit is also due to Thambi Ramaiah and Karunakaran for keeping the audiences entertained. Their humour is not stretched and is genuinely funny.

Apart from narrating the story well, Prabhu Solomon also seems to have a very good understanding of the  audiences’  mindset.  He definitely has done a bit of homework, placing himself in the viewers’ shoes in a bid to preempt their reactions to each scene. He has rightly calculated the questions that are likely to arise in a viewer’s mind while watching each scene and has cleverly incorporated answers to those questions in his dialogues as part of the sequence.  This is one other reason why the film is entertaining.

For instance, there is one scene in which authorities are seen taking a decision to use a helicopter to drop a technician to help those in distress.  To a viewer watching this scene, the first thought that arises is ‘Okay, here is a sequence that has been copied from Unstoppable.’  However, just a minute or two later,  a character on screen says, ‘You don’t need to watch foreign films to get such ideas of using a helicopter to drop a technician. Common sense is enough.’

Dhanush does a neat job of his role as do RadhaRavi as a Central Minister and Ganesh Venkatram as a senior police official.

On the whole, if you are someone who doesn’t mind gaping holes in logic as long as the film is entertaining, then Thodari is certainly an option!