'Thoonga Nagaram' (Tamil)
Director: Gaurav
Cast: Vimal, Bharani, Gaurav, Nishant, Anjali, VN Chidambaram, Subu, Singampuli
A group of carefree youth striking friendship in a city and taking the path of violence due to an unexpected crisis — this is a familiar scenario to the audience, thanks to some recent films with the same plot. 'Thoonganagaram' is simply a replica of these works.
Set in Madurai, the film revolves around four youngsters from different nearby towns who bond over drinks at a local bar. Kannan (Vimal) is a small time videographer, Rajamani (director Gaurav) disposes bodies at an electric crematorium, Ayyavu (Bharani) is an electrician and Mariyappan (Nishant), a mute, who works in a shop.
Though the director tries to maintain pace and interest with touches of humour, the scenes here give a sense of deja vu. Some genuine humour is generated in the love track between Kannan and Radha (a perky Anjali), an anchor on a local TV channel.
Vimal’s attitude and mannerisms make Kannan seem more like an extension of his earlier roles. The story takes an interesting turn when Kannan takes on the son of a local bigwig and bashes him up. Reason — the guy blackmails girls with photos of them taken surreptitiously in the trial room of a textile showroom.
With the bigwig’s goons in search of Kannan to retaliate, the foursome decide to disperse to their respective towns and lie low for a while. But nemesis follows them there. As each one tries to save their skin, they find themselves caught in a dilemma between friendship and betrayal.
The director introduces a couple of twists and turns to pep up his narration, but the story leads to a loose end with loopholes and unanswered questions. As a result, neither the bonding nor the betrayal comes across strongly and convincingly.
The opening scene is a thrilling one, where three hooded figures are shown dragging a corpse through the slush on a dark rainy night. The film then cuts to the past depicting the lives of the foursome and returns to the opening scene. The director could have ended it here. At least then, the climax could have boasted of being a truly different one.