THIRUDAN POLICE MOVIE REVIEW

'Attakathi' fame Dinesh, who had a decent outing with 'Cuckoo' has taken up a lead role with some commercial elements for the first time. 'Thirudan Police' is touted to be a melodramatic comedy fare, with some serious moments in between. Co-produced by S.P.B Charan, can debutante Caarthick Raju come up with a decent feel-good entertainer ?

Dinesh has chosen an apt script for him, where he can showcase his acting histrionics and at the same time, try his hand at comedy. He is convincing as the loafer turned constable, but at some places, he looks quite stiff and rigid. He must certainly improve his dancing capabilities and be more natural in the songs, as his uncomfortness romancing the heroine, is quite obvious. Iyshwarya Rajesh has nothing to offer here and only appears for some romance portions and song sequences. Muthuraman as the main antagonist was okay but its Rajendran and John Vijay who steals the thunder with their comedic acts. The pair complemented each other well and brought out the better comic timing from each other. The climax scene was hilarious ! Upcoming comedian Bala Saravanan is a riot with his dialogue deliveries and voice modulation. His natural demeanor works as a charm for him and sooner or later, he is sure to reach new heights ! Veteran Rajesh sparkles in his short role as a strict constable father and the others like Naren, Nitin Sathya, Krishnamoorthy, Renuka, Uma Iyer, Rajendranath, Vaiyapuri and etc make up the rest of the cast, with a very dignified special appearance from the legendary S.P Balasubrahmanyam.

Sruthi Kannath's costume designing sufficed the needs of the script and most of her work would have been on the heroine since the hero and the other main characters appear in police constable outfits, most of the time. Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was very realistic and apt and the highlight would be the jail lock-up fight scene involving Dinesh, Rajendran and John Vijay. The colony chase and the ensuing fight sequence, during the beginning of the movie. Art direction is by Jacki and the set properties for the police station set and also for the police housing colony was very realistic. The difference in class between a superior and a lower-level police officer was well showcased through the projection of their houses. Praveen K.L's editing was clean as usual and the fight sequences were very well edited. Siddharth's cinematography is functional and there's nothing really outstanding with his work, except for the fast movements through the housing colony, involving a fight sequence between Nitin Sathya and Dinesh.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's musical score is way below average for his standards and its pretty much run of the mill, stuff. "Moodu Panikkul" is a duet shot on Dinesh and Iyshwarya Rajesh in the highlands of the lush, green Kodaikanal. The panoramic views are the usual stuff, we are accustomed to. "Dheivame" is a situational bit song, which was shot on Rajesh and is also used during the end credits, and highlights the love of a father. "Ennodu Vaa" is a party dance number and featured Vijay Sethupathi and Aruldass in cameo appearances. Rajendran and John Vijay amuses with their lady get-ups for this song ! "Pesadhe" is the pick of the lot and melody number and has montages of Dinesh and Iyshwarya Rajesh, which was mostly shot in the housing colony area. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score was just functional and nothing more than that.

Caarthick Raju's story is nothing new and the revenge element is as old as the hills. But the lighthearted treatment of the script is a bit refreshing and the melodramatic moments were kept bare minimum, apart from a fiery verbose speech by Naren. The song placements looked forced and disturbs the flow of the screenplay. Also, there plot development could be more organic and less jarring. The script highlights the pitiful and poor lives of the lower-level police constables and their daily miseries. Their lifestyle and struggle were well captured and how their higher officials make use of them, were explicitly shown. Caarthick Raju has infused the comedy element well into the script but at times, it makes us to ponder on how are we suppose to treat certain scenes, as either being serious or as light-hearted moments. The dialogues are a big plus to the film, especially for the comedy portions, and in particular for Bala Saravanan, who mouthed it perfectly. The end credits, which has photographs of all the technicians with their respective fathers, is an ode to fatherhood and was a nice touch. A film without lofty ambitions, 'Thirudan Police' is meets its expectations, though there are rooms for improvements.

'Thirudan Police' - Funny hide-and-seek !


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL