The hero-director’s earlier teaming in Valai Illa Pattadhari depicted an educated youth’s effort to find a suitable job and fight the criminal elements involved in his line of work. Their second joint outing Thangamagan depicts a son’s effort to clear his father’s name and take on those who were responsible for the man being hounded into taking a drastic step. If there are any similarities between the two films, it’s that this too has an impressively crafted first half. And like the earlier film, the screenplay here too goes on a downslide in its second half, with the director forcing in some contrived situations, which almost negate the natural feel and the positives of the earlier half.
The film opens with Thamizh trying to find out the reason for his father taking an extreme step when faced with a crisis. It takes a flashback mode to depict the happenings that led to the situation. The early scenes depicting Thamizh’s college days and his attraction towards Hema (Amy Jackson) are mildly interesting. Jackson tries to get her lip sync right and look the part of a college girl who is of half British and half Brahmin-Tamil parentage. But it seems like an incongruous pairing, there being zilch chemistry between the two despite the intimate scenes picturised on them. So one is not surprised when the romance doesn’t quite take off, and the duo separate over a misunderstanding.
She would come into his life much later, the course her life had taken not quite convincing, her scenes seeming more of an add-on. Thamizh’s father (Ravikumar) working at the income tax office is absent minded, causing him and the family much distress. These moments have a natural flow and are sensitively crafted by Velraj. Ravikumar infuses life into the character of the distressed man, who when his integrity is questioned, is not quite sure whether it was his memory playing a trick on him or whether his near ones were taking advantage of his problem. Radhika as his wife pitches in her bit.
Life moves on for Thamizh as Yamuna (Samantha) enters his life. The shared moments between Thamizh and Yamuna are some of the best ones in the film. Aesthetically handled, the intimate moments between them are finely tuned and enacted. Samantha is a revelation here, and takes you by surprise with her mature and instinctive take on her character.
Dhanush seems to have shed many of his mannerisms. It’s a more restrained and a controlled performance from the actor. But in the second half when the script takes a downslide, the character too loses some of its sheen.The latter part takes on an investigative mode, with Thamizh trying to go to the root of the problem that had haunted his father. The pace is leisurely. But while it had worked in the first half, boredom sets in the second. And while one had appreciated the director’s realistic take throughout the earlier part, Velraj does a volte face in the latter half. He pushes in a couple of forced-fights for his protagonist who takes on some dreaded goons single-handedly. More of an image booster for the hero, they look out of place in this scenario.
Thamizh’s investigation exposes the duplicity of his near ones and of those whom his father had trusted. But these moments and the ‘Rupees 5 lakh’ matter that Thamizh tries to track, lack conviction. Adith (from the Telugu screen) cuts a handsome picture as Thamizh’s best friend and cousin Arvind. The follow-up to the misunderstanding between the duo is believable, but not the turn Arvind’s life takes in the latter part of the plot. The lackluster second half makes the film’s viewing time seem much longer than its roughly 121 minutes. An average entertainer, Thangamagan doesn’t quite strike the right chord, as the plot gets lost.