Etharkkum Thunindhavan Review
Suriya’s Etharkkum Thunindhavan is directed by Pandiraj and is produced by Sun Pictures. Priyanka Arul Mohan plays the female lead, and the others in the star cast include Vinay Rai, Sathyaraj, Saranya Ponvannan, and a few others.
When Kannabiran (Suriya), a lawyer from a suburban town in the Southern part of Tamil Nadu gets to know that innocent women in his neighborhood are being trapped by a group of reprobates headed by Inba (Vinay Rai) from the other village, he strives to get justice but eventually fails. Eventually, things get worse, when his wife Aadhini (Priyanka Arul Mohan) becomes prey, which instigates Kannabiran to seek new ways for justice.
Actor Suriya is always at his best when it comes to performing roles that are emotional. His screen presence looks promising. To be precise, he is so cute and handsome in the song ‘Summa Surrunnu’. Priyanka Arul Mohan gets a decent role to play. Director Pandiraj never misses to showcase the prominence of female characters in his movies, and he gives good scope for Priyanka to perform well. Vinay Rai’s presence is good, but his characterization is too stereotypical. Sathyaraj gives a decent performance.
Most of the actors are simply used for the sake of posters, but they don’t have a single meaty scene. Usually, comedians would get vital importance in Pandiraj movies, but here, it’s an uttermost disappointment. With actors like Soori, Pugazh, Ramar, KPY Thangadurai, the comedy scenes could have been better, but literally disappointing. Even Vinay’s role looks so stereotypical. Although the central premise of the story has an emotional knot, we don’t get connected to it.
The musical score by D Imman is appreciable. The other technical aspects are decently presented as well.
The film has few salient elements that need special mention. Director Pandiraj is always good in creating humour through conversations among the family members. It has been illustrious with his previous movies as well. Apparently, the mother-son sequences are very well written, and the way Suriya-Saranya Ponvannan executes it through their stellar performances needs special mention. Besides, Pandiraj has done a good job with his climax writing, where it’s totally a surprise twist from what we saw as a prologue before the title credits. However, what becomes a problem is that the immediate shift between the fun-filled light moments and the intense serious scenes placed alternatively that stops us from grasping them completely.
On the whole, Etharkkum Thunindhavan is yet another potboiler based on the current social issues involving women. With many movies being made on a similar concept, ET doesn’t surprise you anywhere. The first half has some engrossing moments, but the predictable screenwriting in the lengthy second half makes it a passable show, but not boring.
Verdict: Etharkkum Thunindhavan is a hackneyed tale, but is a decent watch
