Thangalaan review: Chiyaan Vikram's stellar act, Pa Ranjith's direction salvage messy, complex film

Director: Pa Ranjith 

Cast: Chiyaan Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan, Daniel Caltagirone

Where to watch: In cinemas 

Ratings: 3.5 Stars 

Set in 1850, Thangalaan (Chiyaan Vikram), the chief of the Veppur village, lives with his family, wife Gangamma (Parvathy Thiruvothu), and five kids. Thangalaan grew up hearing stories about his great-grandfather Kaadaiyan (also Vikram), and his fight with the sorceress Aarthi (Malavika Mohanan) to obtain her gold land. 

Despite being a leader of his tribe, Thangalaan and his people are considered to be of a lower caste, He and his people are bound to work as labourers. To change the destiny of Veppur, Thangalaan joins forces with British Officer Lord Clement (Daniel Caltagirone), who arrives at the village to obtain gold. In his quest to find gold, Thangalaan discovers his own identity and what follows forms the rest of the plot. 

The expectations are higher when you have a maverick filmmaker like Pa Ranjith (Kabali, Kaala, Sarpatta Parambarai) with National Award-winning actor Chiyaan Vikram. However, Thangalaan is excellent in parts, but it loses its steam due to the complex screenplay and length. 

Ranjith's direction is first-rate. His latest film continues to touch on the themes of equality and slavery and celebrates the underdogs. Just like his previous films, Thangalaan has strong female characters (read Gangamma and Aarthi) who are equally important to the story, despite their limited screen space. The movie quickly establishes the plight of Veppur villagers and Thangalaan's attempt for redemption. But after a point, too much happens on the screen, which might leave the audience overwhelmed. 

Thangalaan works because of the performances of the lead cast. Chiyaan Vikram continues dominating the screen from the first scene to the last frame. He's playing five different characters, one from the 5th Century, and he looks completely unrecognisable. The same goes for Parvathy. She offers brilliant support to Thangalaan as Gangamma. Their raw chemistry often brings smiles. Malavika does a fine job and she leaves a terrifying effect even after the film. Daniel Caltagirone impresses as Clement. His character is different from the usual British tyrants and has layers to it. 

After the movie ended, it took a few moments to understand what exactly happened in the pre-climax and climax portion. In the second half, the film gets more heavy and even messy. The background score is good, but no song registers. The Hindi dubbed dialogues and lyrics are also not mass-appealing. Also, the movie is quite loud, which also makes you feel jarring. Another reason why Thangalaan could not become Pa Ranjith's next masterpiece is shoddy VFX work. Thangalaan may not be Pa Ranjith's best work, but it is still a big screen experience for his attempt to balance his ideology with period-action drama.

Read: Chiyaan Vikram explains why Thangalaan will stay with him for whole life, Parvathy Thiruvothu lauds Pa Ranjith for...