'Thaa' (Tamil, Drama, 2010)
Director- RK Surya Prabhakar
Cast: Srihari, Nisha, Benito, Shanmugham, Madan,
With a meticulously planned screenplay, clearly defined characters, director Surya Prabhakar creates a strong impact with his very first film 'Tha'. He has a strong grip on his narration and the way he moves his scenes reveals his strong understanding of the medium. He has introduced nearly a dozen fresh faces and the technical crew too has mostly newcomers. But the director has extracted what he exactly wanted from them.
Surya Prabhakar (apprenticed with Samudhirakani) has set his story in a small village near Coimbatore. His protagonist Surya (Srihari), a school dropout, has a low income job in a factory. Not given to social niceties, Surya is rough, unkempt and an introvert. Bringing out impressively the oddities of Surya and the changes in him when a girl enters his life, is debutante Srihari.
Surya watches from the sidelines as his friends pursue and woo girls. His married buddy Anbu (Benito) is not above seducing the pretty young girls who come to take photos at his studio. Another friend of his, Shanmugham follows all the do’s and dont’s of his new found ladylove religiously, only to find all his efforts backfiring, thanks to the mischief played by his buddies.
These episodes are entertaining moments for the audience.
The yearning for female company slowly sets in Surya too. And when his parents arrange his marriage with a family friend’s daughter Jyoti (Nisha, the Mumbai girl fits in aptly), Surya is secretly delighted. But possessiveness and fear of losing her, drives him into many rash acts.
The film opens as Surya informs, looking at the camera, that it was his wedding day and of his delight in marrying the girl he loved.
As he continues to narrate the events that preceded the moment, his whole past flashes before us. And then it’s back to him again. It jolts you with an unexpected finale that brings a lump to your throat. And the feeling lingers on long after you leave the theatre. The high energy songs (Srivijay, a Srilankan Tamil who has a music album to his credit), are well placed without disturbing the flow. Produced by Shreya Films, 'Tha' is engaging and moving, and worth a watch.