The film is synonymous to its title, a quick, suave and straightforward thriller from Kamal’s camp. The film is an official remake of the French film Sleepless nights with Ulaganayagan tweaking the screenplay to suit the regional audience. The entire movie is shot in a night club; ironically the club’s name is Insomnia too. Kamal is aided by a number of characters in this movie; Prakash Raj, Trisha, Kishore, Sampath, Yugi Sethu, Jagan and so on. Kamal’s action thrillers are always a delight to watch for its high pulsating action sequences and his assistant Rajesh Selva who helms the directional chair in Thoongavanam makes sure he delivers the same.
Thoongavanam doesn’t quite fall in the suspense category; rather it’s more of a raw gritty action drama that chugs on with the help of a strong edge of the seat screenplay. Not taking much time the movie shoots off with Kamal(Divakar) and Yugi Sethu(Mani) who pose as Narcotic bureau officers involved in a chaotic crime scene, but their hidden agenda is to confiscate and rob cocaine. One thing leads to another and Kamal’s son gets kidnapped by Prakash Raj who is the night club owner, the rest is to watch and find out considering the genre of the movie.
The entire film is taken in a massive night club and follows the incidents that unravel in a single night with Kamal trying to use his mental and physical might to get the better out of the drug warlord Prakash Raj on one hand and the cops; Kishore and Trisha on the other. The film wastes no time in comical elements and it shuttles frame between the various parts of the night club, kudos to the art directors and cinematographer Sanu Varghese for capturing the true essence of the party hard clubs from various angles.
The first half races ahead in time and before you realize its interval block. The screenplay is razor sharp with the director springing twists and turns every now and then just as it starts getting predictable and puts forward an interesting scope for the second. A busy father who has no time for his son and the sudden turn of events leaves him cursing his fate, there is this single scene when Kamal expresses his unconditional love for his son for the first time and is simply emotional, who better than the great Ulaganayagan could do this with utter ease. If the first half was racy, the second half gets a little predictable and appears as if the director has run out of twists, but some hardcore action and the sense of anticipation on how the movie would end gives the thrilling end note.
The stunt choreography by Giles and Ramesh deserves a round of resounding applause, the second half Kamal-Trisha fight and Kamal-Kishore fight is classroom training for action appealers, made with par perfection. Ghibran’s BGM and sound mixing is something to watch out for, for it syncs with the action sequences quite comfortably and gives the adrenaline rush the screenplay wants.
Director Rajesh has done his homework by giving importance to small details and designing the thriller even with so many characters around.
Performance wise, by all means Kamal steals the show and reminds us of those Kurthipunal days. He is hurt both physically and mentally, but the spirit moves on as would any father. He kicks into his character at ease and loads us with his trademark entertainment. Prakash Raj is his usual self, cracking nut jokes at the same time showing how much of a devious villain he can be, Trisha is the surprise package in this flick as the curious intelligent officer who can pull off some daring stunts too. Her fight with Kamal will be remembered for quite some time. Kishore, Sampath, Yugi Sethu and others serve their purpose by filling in their characters with importance.
Tamil Cinema loves action, when mixed with the right dosage of twists, turns and stunts they embrace it whole heartedly. Thoongavanam is one such flick from Kamal’s den which rides high on stunt choreography, standout performances from its lead actors, fuses the right BGM, does suffer the predictability factor in the second half which slightly appears to increase the length of the movie, but the overall package is complete entertainment guaranteed.
Verdict : Unlimited action guaranteed.
