THEGIDI MOVIE REVIEW

In the new wave of Tamizh cinema's next-gen directors, here comes another entrant from the 'Naalaiya Iyakkunar' stable. P.Ramesh, winner of the reality show's Season 2, makes his debut with 'Thegidi', an intriguingly titled thriller. Produced by C.Senthil Kumar on behalf of Vel Mediaa, the brother of C.V Kumar of Thirukumaran Entertainments, this small-budget flick made good promises with its theme and slick trailer, involving the world of private detective agencies. With a talented technical team backing him, can P.Ramesh pull it off in feature films too ?

Ashok Selvan, who previously did the lead role in Pizza II - Villa, plays the protagonist here. He has done a fairly good job with his performance, but he can definitely work out on his expressions and emoting capabilities. Though subtle expressions worked out well for the role in this film, more would be needed for films of other styles and variations. He tries to balance the equation of being slick & smart and the man in trouble, quite well. But he certainly shares a good vibe and chemistry with Janani Iyer. Janani, looks sweet & pretty and has good scope to perform, though her character has its limitations, in terms of contributing to the screenplay's importance. Jayaprakash proves yet again that he is soon becoming a master in doing any sort of character roles with finesse and ease. Kaali, was particularly impressive in the short and cute role of the protagonist's confidant. The rest of the cast such as Jeyakumar, 'Kavithalaya' Krishnan, Sounderajan, Venkatesh, Rajan Iyer, Rekha Suresh, Shalu, Asritha and etc meted out decent performances, within their scope. A small but befitting cast !

What's great about the technical department of this film, is the fact that they are not only young and talented, but can work in sync, with one another ! 'Billa' Jagan's action choreography was neat and well executed, especially with the posh bungalow house fight sequence between Ashok Selvan and Jeyakumar. The non-fight sequences, could have been handled and presented in an more realistic manner. S.S Murthy handles the art designing and his work complements' the story and director's presentation and vision of the script. The interiors of the detective agency setup, the protagonist's home, the heroine's simple middle-class colony and etc were very propped and presented well for the audience. Leo John Paul's editing is smooth and almost spotless, ensuring that the movie follows a steady pace in the second half, but at the same time, ensuring the movie is crisp. Dinesh Krishnan.B, who made name with 'Soodhu Kavvum', scores yet again in the cinematography department. His visuals are clean, fresh, and pleasing for the eyes. There's not much gimmicky acts from him, but his work sufficed the need of the script.

Debutante Nivas K.Prasanna, makes a very promising debut with 'Thegidi. The songs are very soothing and melodious. "Neeyum Dhinam" is the opening song, played during the opening credits sequence, which had the film's scenes, portrayed in a cartoon/comic strip style. "Needhane" is a haunting tune, which was shot on Ashok Selvan, who was portrayed to be in the middle of his assignments of "shadowing & surveillance", shows in montages with some clever editing pattern. The pick of the album, "Yaar Ezhudhiyadho" was shot on the lead pair, depicting the protagonist, following the heroine as part of his assignment. The indoor shots were very impressive, particularly the lighting, especially with the library scenes. "Vinmeen Vidhaiyil" is a love duet, shot on the lead pair again. The song had montages of the lead pair developing their relationship. The shots of the urbane park and lake was impressive, especially with the color tone and hue, used by Dinesh Krishnan.B. "Kangalai Oru" is a situational, pathos song, highlighting the issues of trust between the lead pair. Nivas K.Prasanna, impresses in the background score as well, especially in the climax and pre-climax sequences, with engaging sounds and implementing silence at the appropriate moments. 

P.Ramesh must be appreciated for not exaggerating anything beyond the means and needs of his script, just because of his transition from short-films to the silver screen. The premise of private detective agencies and the theme of "hunter becoming the hunted" is interesting. P.Ramesh kept the cards close to his heart, and slowly started piling up the suspense elements before the interval. Though the film is a thriller, the romance angle was very tastefully written, with brilliant dialogues and apt direction, which makes us to root for the lead pair. The research and detailing work was apt for the script, but more in-depth details could have given a more complex mood to the script. The thriller and suspense track is quite simple, to be frank, and for those who are thriller/suspense aficionados, this film's plot would be a piece of cake, when it comes to cracking the answers. The minor loopholes and gaps in the story-line and some screenplay continuity issues, can help the active-thinkers to easily connect the dots, especially when half the suspense is revealed quite early in the second half. The motive given by the antagonist characters for their actions, is quite new and refreshing to notice. Though the climax was supposed to be the sucker punch, the writing could have been better, especially with the antagonist's reasons and justifications for "its" actions. The ending though was open-ended and reminded us of a tiny element which some audience could have overlooked. A 'Thegidi - Part 2' ? Maybe. 

'Thegidi' - A simple and interesting thriller, executed neatly !


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL