Tourist Family
Das, aided by his brother-in-law, makes the crossing from Sri Lanka to Rameshawaren, where Das has been unable to support his family. They have risked everything to begin a new life in Chennai. Unfortunately, as soon as they land on the beach, they are arrested by the local police. While being transported to jail, Mulli, the youngest son, fabricates a story and wins the Head Constable Bhairavan’s sympathy. Thinking they are just poor and innocent folk, Bhairavan decides to let them go. Keeping a low profile, the family moves into a Chennai neighborhood while Das looks in vain for a job. Now they do their best to blend into the Tamil culture. ‘Tourist Family’ is the best family-friendly story of the year. You will become emotionally attached to this family of four, which has a knack for making the best of bad situations. First-time writer/director Abishan Jeevinth moves from drama to comedy and back again. The family is wonderfully played by Sasikumar as Das, Simran as Vasanthi, Mithun Jai Sankar as Nithu, the emotional eldest son, and Kamalesh Jagan as Mulli, the very funny youngest son. The very sweet ‘Tourist Family’ can be seen on Amazon Prime Videoand Disney+Hotstar.
Maareesan
‘Maareesan’ is another word for Maricha, a shape-shifting demon in the Ramayana. Dayalan is a petty thief being released spending some time in jail. But jail has not reformed him and he is soon up to his old tricks looking for a house to rob. Casing the house, he comes across an old man chained to a bed. The old man mistakes Dayalan for his son, Kumar, who he says has locked him in the room while he is out. The old man appeals to Dayalan to set him free, offering a large amount of money to take him to the nearest bus stop. At the ATM, Dayalan realizes that the old man has a lot of money in his account, but he can only withdraw a certain amount a day. He convinces the old man that he will be glad to take him to his friend’s. He hope to swindle his entire back account. This starts a humorous road-trip as Dayalan must play nice as he deals with the old man’s often forgetful ways. But soon the journey will take a turn as it becomes clear that the old man is not who we think he is. Fahadh Faasil is right at home with the creepy petty thief with bad intensions. Tamil comedian Vadivelu plays the part of the old man with dementia in a very understated and authentic way. I thoroughly enjoyed watching ‘Maareesan’, a strange combination of comedy twisted into a serious crime thriller. It can be seen on Netflix.
Kaantha
Set in the film world of 1950s Madras, ‘Kaantha’ is a period drama distinguished by its backdrop, its acting, and production design. The story revolves around the
relationship of legendary director Ayya and T. K. Mahadevan, his former protege whom he discovered and made into a superstar. As they start a new project after many years, old wounds and egos flare. This is complicated by the introduction of Kumari, a Burmese refugee and another protege of Ayya, who is cast as the heroine. When she is murdered, the movie becomes a mystery thriller. The acting in ‘Kaantha’ is excellent. Dulquer Salmaan plays the melodramatic star Mahadevan, and Samuthirakani, the restrained
and resentful Ayya. ‘Kaantha’ is written and directed by Selvamani Selvaraj. You can watch it on Netflix.
