After his romantic musical Poda Podi, Vignesh Shivan shifts genre for Naanum Rowdy Thaan. With dark humour weaved in, Vignesh through his protagonist Pandi, an aspirant rowdy, takes a satirical look at the underworld and a common man’s fascination with it. A cute love story is also blended in.
Shivan has packed his screenplay with some colourful characters, and many hilarious moments. And this more than compensates for the film’s glitches and its slackening pace at times.
The pairing of Sethupathi and Nayanthara may seem an unusual one. But the chemistry between the two strikes the right note, the characters bouncing off each other in splendid harmony. Pandi aspires to be a rowdy despite being the son of a cop (Radhika). He fakes the behaviour and acts of a ruffian though no one is taken in by it. Amusing are the moments where the mother who had set her eart on her son joining the police force, makes some slick moves to see that he passes the physical tests. Radhika, whose appearance is brief, fits in aptly.
With the arrival of Kadambari in his life, it seems like Pandi would soon get to fulfil his ambition. Kadambari is a hearing impaired girl, could lip read and in search of her missing father. And as the duo get drawn towards each other Kadambari sets a condition for Pandi. That she could be his if he could help her kill Killivalavan (Parthiban) a gangster who had wronged her family.
Sethupathi as Pandi reveals a slightly different dimension to his performance than what we have seen so far. Apart from his comic take, a softer gentler side is exposed where he falls for Kadamabari and strives to fulfil her wish.
Looking exquisite in some simple but elegant outfits Nayanthara performs with intuitive understanding. Her disability is depicted in a very unselfconscious way, the character seeking no sympathy. The actress has for the first time dubbed in her own voice which makes one wonder why she didn’t do so earlier. Incidentally, this seems to be the year of Nayanthara, her three recent releases still going strong in theaters. Surya (son of Vijay Sethupathi) makes his acting debut here as Pandi’s younger version.
The technical crew has coordinated efficiently to bring the director’s vision on to screen. Anirudh’s songs and the background score effectively captures the feel. Slick editing (Sreekar Prasad) and engaging frames (George Williams) enhance the film’s entertainment value. The supporting characters are colourful and well-cast, especially the assorted collection of friends supporting Pandi in his mission. Like the ‘grandpa’ who takes on anything headlong. Parthipan as Killivalavan is a delight to watch, the actor holding fort in the latter part with his splendid take on the gangster-politician.
RJ Balaji’s witticisms keep the proceedings lively. Anandraj as a thug though getting lesser space, is hilarious in the scene where he and Kadambari who he had kidnapped, talk at cross purposes. There is Rajendran generating some fun moments with a gun that ‘meows’ when it’s fired. Whenever the narration threatens to slacken, the director comes up with some outrageously funny moments that speeds the momentum. There are a couple of instances where we revisit an earlier moment and get to see it in a new perspective. Naanum Rowdy Thaan could have been a run -of -the -mill revenge saga set against the backdrop of the underworld. But Shivan’s refreshing take on it, makes it a delightfully engaging fun ride.