Within few weeks after the release of ‘Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum’ the official remake of Korean film ‘My Dear Desperado’, here comes ‘Thozha’ the remake of French super hit film ‘The Intouchables’. As the trailer suggested, the film is deals with a wealthy quadriplegic and his caretaker who comes from the straight opposite economic and social background. That the characters have been played by Tollywood super star and the ever charming Nagarjuna and Karthi who has is on a hat-trick of successes in Kollywood gives the much needed star value and public attention for the film. The teaser and trailers with grand visuals have helped enhance the pre-release positive buzz. Let’s see how the film has justified the expectations.
Seenu (Karthi) comes out from jail on parole and he needs a job to prove himself harmless to the society. He has a strained relationship with his mother and siblings. He becomes the fulltime caretaker of Vikramadhithya (Nagarjuna), a rich businessman who has been paralysed due to a near fatal accident. Vikram instantly feels that Seenu is his perfect companion and a brotherly relationship starts developing between them.
It is not the physical illness but excessive mental stress that is affecting Vikram as he could not come out of the memories of his past. On the other hand Seenu needs to prove his worth to his family members, to get their affection and respect.
The rest is how each of them helps the other in getting rid of their problems to live a happy and peaceful life.
After a usual start, the film picks up momentum when Karthi attends the interview to become the caretaker of Nagarjuna. The reason that makes Nag select Karthi for the job has been portrayed well and that makes a good impact in our minds. From then on it is a neat emotional tale between two men from drastically different backgrounds and facing different problems but connected by the affection for each other. The film has a touching emotional content that thankfully is largely underplayed and never touches melodrama.
The characterization of Karthi and his brilliant performance provides ample comedy and entertainment. The actor with his innate comic sense makes us laugh out loud in quite many instances and also wins plaudits with impeccable emotions.
Equal credit should go for Nagarjuna. The veteran has portrayed a paralysed person who does not seek compassion but a companion who shares his wavelength, with finesse. With a smile and a drop of a tear he could convey the emotions and make us root for him. And special kudos for successfully dubbing in his own voice for the first time in Tamil and he has done this job far more convincingly.
The contrasting characterization and the performances of the two lead actors makes us watch the film which is otherwise highly predictable and even touches the point of testing our patience at times. What if you are made to wait for several minutes to reveal something you have predicted within a jiffy? This is the most bothering aspect of the film.
Secondly the script does not have the depth to justify the running time of more than two and a half hours. The portrayal of the relationship between the two lead actors is also at the surface level and one could not help feeling for the scope for depth which has not been utilized.
Having said this there are a few well written and well executed scenes; especially the episodes in Paris where Karthi does all the things to completely drain out the stress of Nagarjuna. There are some emotionally pleasing moments like the one in which Nagarjuna facilitates the wedding of Karthi’s sister.
Prakash Raj in his tailor made role as Nag’s friend does his job neatly. Tamannah as the caring secretary of Nag and Karthi’s eye candy does her part without any mistake and she looks extremely ravishing in the ultra modern costumes. Jayasudha as Karthi’s mother is convincing while Vivekh who comes as Karthi’s family friend cum lawyer manages to make us laugh with his trademark dialogues. Anushka is impressive in her cameo.
Gopi Sunder’s re-recording is adequate while songs end up as mere fillers without making any impact on the ears. P.S.Vinod’s cinematography shows Chennai with a rich look and he has maintained the lavishness throughout the film. Dialogues by Rajumurugan and Murugesh Babu make an impact. There are some meaningful lines in the emotional exchanges between Karthi and Nag.
Verdict: Performances, Visuals and Dialogues make this watchable
