'Thillalangidi' (Tamil, Action Comedy, 2010)
Director: M Raja
Cast: Jayam Ravi, Tamannaah, Shaam, Vadivelu J and others
With a high success rate of remaking Telugu films in Tamil, the sibling-duo of director Raja and hero Ravi team together for yet another remake. The Telugu super hit film 'Kick' turns into 'Thillalangidi', with Ravi playing a youth bored with the normal and the routine, and looking beyond them to get a kick and spice up his life. He finally realises what gives him the ultimate kick, and true happiness.
This is the duo’s home production.
Far removed from the intensity of his earlier 'Peraanmai', Ravi gets to play a light, farcical and over-the-top role.
With his split comic timing and effortless essaying, he is likable as Krishna. Paired with him is the bubbly Tamannah as Nisha. She is intrigued by Krishna’s strange antics and gets drawn to him. They share a cute chemistry.
Krishna gives up his high salaried job, as he was bored with the 9-5 routine. He looks for excitement and indulges in acts risky and unlawful. Throwing a challenge to the police, he robs the rich, sparing not even the politicians. Nisha who encounters him in bizarre circumstances, is both drawn to, and exasperated by his behaviour.
Finally parting ways with him, she consents to marry Krishna Kumar (Shaam), her father’s choice. Krishna Kumar an upright cop, is assigned to catch the elusive thief, and is determined to get him. It’s a competent job by Shaam (re- enacting the role he played in the Telugu version). Despite his looks and talent, Shaam is yet to get his due in Tamil films.
The scene shifts to Malaysia, where the lives of the three converge.
The cat and mouse game between the cop and the thief, and the former’s understanding of the latter’s psyche and motive, forms the rest. There are comedy tracks of Vadivelu and Santhanam, enjoyable at times. An elaborate whacky take on what constitutes true happiness, the film is a purely escapist entertainer, breezy and cheerful.