Etharkkum Thunindhavan
RATING
Introduction
Onto the next release of the weekend and I finished watching the Tamil film Etharkkum Thunindhavan on Netflix starring Suriya. The previous two OTT releases of Suriya were outstanding. Not only were they in a commercial space but they were high concept films trying to tell a story. After almost 3 years, a Suriya film hit the theatres. And while the response was mixed, I was really looking forward to watching Etharkkum Thunindhavan given that there is an element of quality associated with Suriya’s films. So then does Etharkkum Thunindhavan which finally found its way to the OTT giant Netflix manage to impress, stay tuned.
Story & Screenplay
Etharkkum Thunindhavan follows the story of a lawyer who goes after a gang, led by the minister’s son who threatens women with their videos. The film is again in a commercial space but the story has an outdated look to it. Somehow, this story doesn’t belong to 2022. Ofcourse making videos of women is a pathetic act and but the film falters big time in the writing. The screenplay is all over the place here. The entire love story between the two protagonists surprisingly made me want to press the pause button everytime. It just did not seem organic and neither was it entertaining. The fact that this forms a huge part of the first half means that the actual story doesn’t begin until the halfway mark. This for me was an outdated style of writing which is just not focussed enough and instead wants to add several unneccesary elements to prolong a thin plot.
But the issues don’t end there! The second half is equally marred with substandard writing and over the top sequences, all in the name of entertainment. I am all for mass entertainers, make no mistake. But their primary goal has to be to entertain us failing which they should be called out for. If Bollywood has been called out for loads of s*** then films like these must be called out as well. Wish is why I was surprised by its imdb rating of 8! Another reason why it ain’t reliable enough. I lost interest midway through the second hour and just went through the motions in what would have otherwise been a decent final act. Overall, the screenplay is a royal mess.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are tedious and do not leave any mark. The music is pretty average and further stalls the flow of the drama. The BGM is loud and ineffective. Director Pandiraj has a good subject at hand but he misses the mark by a huge margin. His direction lacks focus which is the biggest letdown here.
Performances
The performances are decent here. Vinay Rai as Inbu does a good job although he does go overboard at times. Satyaraj and Madhusudhan Rao are both fairly good. Priyanka Arulmohan as Aadhini is charming and does a decent job. Suriya as Kannabiran is good but honestly the amount of talent which he possesses, this film did not justify it one bit.
Conclusion
Etharkkum Thunindhavan is a hot mess and a total downer. Steer clear! Available on Netflix.