Last Diwali was a fiasco of sorts for director A.R.Murugadoss as his 7am Arivu hardly created any ripple across the TN box office. This Diwali I was keeping my fingers crossed as he had teamed up with none other than the box office king 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay whose movies had enjoyed a minimum guarantee at the box office till date. But the intriguing part here is that both of them have had a track record of churning out flops when the hype is ripe. After watching Thuppaki, I was taken by surprise as both of them have realized their strengths and have fired on all cylinders. Let's see how...
Jagdish, a soldier from the Indian Army returns home for vacation to join his family in Mumbai and also to find his soul mate. On course he encounters a terrorist plot to rattle Mumbai and he unfolds it with ease. Things get complicated when the terrorist kingpin decides to take on Jagdish and make him pay for what he did. Did Jagdish really pay a price and if so with what?
Well, it was a formulaic Vijay movie that was targeted at the masses, but was chicly packed and freshly presented on screen despite some notable flaws.
Vijay looked ravishing and younger. His toned down body and brawn added to his character that was more in line with a 'Dirt Harry' cop attitude and eliminates the baddies cold bloodedly without a second thought.
Kajal Agarwal had a stereotypical role as that of a bubbly girl, but again here the treatment for her character was different and her chemistry with Vijay worked like a charm. The romantic interludes and duets were in perfect sync. Understandably we might be witnessing her in Vijay's future projects as well.
Sathyan as Vijay's sidekick did his bit to advance the proceedings, although there was not much scope for him in the comedy department as it was shared well between Vijay, Jayaram and Kajal.
Jayaram was a surprise element in the movie and he was used as the comic catalyst in various scenes to bring the house down and his combination with Vijay and Kajal was rib tickling.
Vidyut Jamwal as the terrorist kingpin had nothing special to offer and had a cold expression throughout and managed some gimmicks during the climax.
All other characters including the girls who played Vijay's sisters were handpicked to add to the uber-cool urban feel of the movie.
Music by Harris Jayaraj was average, but the 'Google' song caught the frenzy of the audience.
Editor Sreekar Prasad had placed his scissors at the right places and made the movie look racy.
Cinematography by ace cameraman Santhosh Sivan was neat and frames did the talking many a times.
One more thing I noticed was that the terrorists who were depicted to be from the northern part of India were conversing in Hindi unlike other movies where they converse in Tamil with a camouflaged North Indian accent, except during the climax wherein the antagonist had to mouth an elongated dialog.
Some notable flaws as mentioned before was the clichéd one man army portrayal of Vijay, dumb terrorists and plans that fall in place like a row of neatly arranged dominos.
Despite all these minor flaws, the coming together of bigwigs like A.R.Murugadoss, Vijay, Sreekar Prasad, Santosh Sivan, Harris Jayaraj and producer Thanu, after mounting sky high expectations for this movie has ultimately paid off with rich dividends making it the clear winner at the box office by a long distance for this Diwali.
Another interesting fact - I visited the theater thrice - first time the ticket cost was Rs.500, second time it was Rs.400 and the third time it was Rs.200. I bought it only the third time for Rs.200 and so want to do a small cost justification:
For A.R.Murugadoss's Direction and Screen Play - Rs.50
For Vijay's acting and Screen Presence - Rs.50
For the chemistry between Kajal and Vijay - Rs. 50
For a Perfect Diwali Treat - Rs.50
Verdict: Perfect Diwali Treat!
Rating: 3.5/5
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The cost justification was just to showcase the movie's highlights... honestly I felt that the ticket price was a tad too expensive, given the theater's ambiance :P
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