'Thanga Magan' Review: It is just another mediocre film

Cast: Dhanush, Samantha, Amy Jackson, Sathish, K. S. Ravikumar, Raadhika Sarathkumar.

Director: Velraj

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Dhanush is a real “thanga magan” in ‘Thanga Magan’ but if the two hour movie were released episodically (one hour each), the audiences would have been happy with just the first episode because the second episode here becomes a mini-struggle to sit through.

Tamizh’s (Dhanush) life is divided between the time zones of first love and first marriage. His instant attraction toward Amy works in his favor after he delivers a couple of harmless jokes regarding her beauty. She falls for simple lines at first and later walks away due to flimsy arguments. Samantha then enters the picture coyly. She is so good-natured; I’d say she’s marshmallow in human form.

Velraj killed the mother’s character in ‘Velai Illa Pattadhaari’, and in ‘Thanga Magan’, he kills the father’s character. The movie in fact opens with the death of the father (K. S. Ravikumar). Slowly, Dhanush reveals a part of the story via flashback. Writer – director Velraj has shifted his focus from mother sentiment to father sentiment in a year and gives Samantha and Amy some delectable scenes even though all that Samantha does is support her screen husband who is the only lead.

Sathish tags along with Dhanush throughout the first episode. He’s seen in songs too. Midway through the film, Sathish loses importance. He neither has dialogues nor has his shadow in the film anymore. Similarly, humor makes way for action in the second episode. It’s okay if Sathish can’t come up with gags when the film is taking a dramatic turn the way it happens in many Tamil television serials, still it’s not okay to watch uninspired action scenes featuring Dhanush. They don’t help the film in any way.

While the villain is on the verge of a nervous breakdown as his speech about how he’s born to win is demolished by Tamizh’s handwork, Dhanush, the star, is awarded with a punch line. That dialogue about Tamil not losing to other languages in Tamil Nadu (which appears in the trailer as well) brings fewer whistles compared to Dhanush’s romantic escapades with Amy. Actually what he says there makes no sense whatsoever within the cinematic boundary ‘Thanga Magan’ draws. I agree that it’s a mass dialogue for crowds that visit the theatres to see their Star win against all odds but it sticks out like a piece of chicken in a bowl of broccoli.

‘Thanga Magan’ refuses to be an entertainer. It merely floats with Anirudh’s music.