Best of Tamil 2019

Thambi is an entertaining story that starts out as a family drama and ends up as a fast-paced thriller. Written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, the award-winning writer/director of ‘Drishyam’, Malayalam cinema’s first 50 crore film.

Moorthy (Sathyaraj) is a respected politician from a district in northern Tamil Nadu.  It is election time and his chief rival is a young man who used to be his son’s best friend. Manimaaran wants to build a resort on grounds occupied by tribal people while Moorthy is fighting for the people to retain their land.  Fifteen years back, Moorthy had won a sympathy vote, when his teenage son, Saravanan, ran away from home never to return.  Is it possible that if Saravanan returned home now, the election might sway in Moorthy direction?

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The scene switches to Goa where Vicky, a man in his thirties is in the process of conning a young white foreigner out of her money. He gets picked up by Jeevanandam, a corrupt police officer. The officer is familiar with Saravanan’s case and wants Vicky to impersonate him. Vicky agrees when he learns his record will be erased, and if the family accepts him, he can loot them without punishment.

Karthi as Vicky/Saravanan is fun to watch. When he moves into the family home, he finds a father and mother much too eager to believe that he is their long-lost son. At the same time, Saravanan’s older sister (Jyothika) treats him with cold indifference, and his mute, wheelchair-bound grandmother is suspicious and fearful.  In situations where exposure is imminent, his eyes show panic, quick thinking, and charm with ease, a natural con man.

Jyothika, as Saravanan’s sister Parvathy, was believable as the heart-broken sister who resents Vicky’s intrusion. This is the first time she and Karthi have worked together. Jyothika is married to Tamil superstar Surya, Karthi’s real-life brother. Sathyaraj as Moorthy plays the righteous politician and loving father with conviction until his real motives are revealed. The last family member, Sowcar Janaki as grandma, is a scene-stealer. Even though she can’t speak or walk, we can see the fear in her eyes when she interacts with Vicky.

What happens when Vicky decides to find out what really happened to Saravanan?  Thambi has it all: comedy, family drama, action, song and dance, plot twists and a murder mystery.  One of my favorite Tamil movies of 2019.

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