Thaanaa Serndha Koottam

When you watch Special 26, you will feel that there is no single protagonist in the movie. Every character in the movie was given a importance of a leading role.

Unfortunately in the Tamil version everything revolves around the hero. Its very sad state of affair. Movie should have been named as Surya :). I am not sure if directors have to compromise for the star dom.

Vignesh knows the trick to convert a serious movie to a commercial masala movie. The whole essence of the original movie is the essence of the real life feel. Not a single moment of the movie you will feel real.

Cinematography... is a consolation from Dinesh

On the one side creators produce next generation movies like Aruvi, Aramm and on other hand this is what you have got is this.

I enjoyed this movie, was the first Suriya movie I watched and thought he was pretty good, of course I watched this movie originally because of Ramya Krishnan.

It does have a nice little message, and it is fun to watch, which Ramya and Suriya were a big deal for the reason why. Seeing Ramya as Sivagami in Bahubali as the first movie, it was fun watching her turn into a sweet motherly type, she has huge acting range that is a shame she isn't globally known, almost a crime. Ramya's own range could be seen in this movie, due to her first scene she looked deadly as a cobra, then switched to a nervous mother type. Watch it aleast once.

It's a remake alright. But that's probably the reason the movie falters. The remake has been "altered" to "suit" Tamil audience and hence slips into the boring category at times. The director is confused as to what direction he must be taking this movie in - movie with a message or a con-comedy movie. Unfortunately that weighs down the screenplay. The con scenes are well executed but the backstory and the message attempt fail to impress. Could have been much better has it been a con-comedy.

Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018) :

Since I watched Naanum Rowdy Dhaan,I was impressed by Vignesh Shivan's skill of blending humor in serious plots.So even when it is revealed that TSK is remake of acclaimed Bollywood film Special 26,I have huge expectations on how Vignesh would blend humor in such serious non-fictional events.SO did Vignesh Shivan impress again?

Plot:

Tilak(Surya) is a frustrated guy who fails to get a job in CBI because he could not pay the bribe. He forms a gang with Jhansi Rani(Ramya Krishnan) and few others to take a revenge by performing fake raids on several people in the society. In the process, the real CBI officers come to know about this and they start chasing down the same. Will the real CBI officers catch this Gang? What happens in the end ? Forms the story of the film.

My Review:

TSK has a core plot that is pretty similar to the Hindi film Special 26. It must be noted that they have acquired the rights to the Hindi film and Vignesh ShivN has modified the screenplay completely to suit the local audience. TSK actually looks like a highly original product that is sure to get recognition from local audience who haven't watched Special 26.

Like in Bollywood version, the film's events happen in 1987. The setting is Karaikudi in Tamilnadu. TSK doesn't turn serious at any time unlike its original; it is packaged with fun elements. The director has done most changes in the first part and some characters. He has introduced Ramya Krishna's character here, which was originally played by actor Anupam Kher. By bringing Ramya Krishna on board, the director has also used lot of comedy. The underlying humour though is director Vignesh Shivn's signature style. Throughout the film, it is the understated sarcasm that wins audience over.

But despite all of the fun,the movie gets bit dragged even for such crisp duration of 2hr12min.Vignesh Shivn constantly tries to be 'fun' and 'serious' and ends up not achieving both. There are places where Thaanaa Serndha Koottam catches us off-guard.Climax lacks logic.

Suriya is a proven actor who can do justice to any kind of role. For this character, he has turned very lean and looks much younger than his age. He has many scenes to showcase his multiple variations effectively. It looked odd in the trailer, but the star has done a commendable job as far as dubbing in Telugu is considered. With an ingeniously layered role and a brilliant act, Ramya Krishnan truly "steals" the show.The seasoned actress that she is, brings on the finer nuances of her character with a lot of dignity and understatedness.When real CBI catches Ramya Krishna, she gives the best performance. She is also quite natural in this.Suresh Chandra Menon is apt in his role.

Anirudh delivers a mixed bag. Sodakku is a chartbuster but other songs are just decent. It is the same with the background score as well which has its moments but is mostly uninspiring.The director has created '80s look and feel with his choice of locations and perfect art work. Cinematography is decent.

SO,Thaana Serndha Koottam may amuse those who didn't watch Special 26 but to those who watched the original,this comic version feels bit odd.

My Rating 6.25/10

The reviews of this movie really put me off so I want to point out a few things. First off, this does not seem to be a complete remake of Special 26. The director and writers seem to have taken creative decisions to alter the source material to suit Tamil audiences. Next is the fact that the original movie Special 26 is a movie based off actual events that occurred in North India. It would really make no sense to recreate the same movie when in the original they try to portray a semi historical account of the heists that occurred. Instead they've taken a different approach and altered the plot and the characters as well. I also loved the twist that happens in the end from the original (Special 26) however they've changed the twist in this movie but it was still pretty good. Definitely try to watch Special 26, it is a great movie but still give "Thaanaa Serndha Koottam" a watch.

Watch it if you like Surya, watch it if you want to laugh and have fun.