'Tamiluku En Ondrai Azhuthavum' Movie Review: Social Thriller With Great Comedy

Ramprakash Rayappa as a director is quite wary of the pulse of Tamil cinema audience. Knowing it’s almost impossible to appeal to the masses with a story devoid of comedy and romance, he uses the plots involving Dinesh and Sathish to entertain viewers.

Of the two plots, Dinesh’s story – about a conniving real estate broker, who falls head over heels with his counsellor, is a tad boring and offers nothing new to the whole experience.

Ever since he played a blind role in ‘Cuckoo’, there’s something so disturbing about his eyes, and maybe that’s why he’s mostly seen wearing shades in the film. And there’s also a funny scene where he’s mistaken for a salesman of glasses.

The plot involving Sathish – about a call-taxi driver in search of a prospective life partner, will leave you in splits. This plot has its share of thrills too, but it’s mostly the rib-tickling moments that we cheer for.

There’s a sub-plot about a small-time thief and his scenes with Satish are equally funny. In one of the best stretches, the thief flirts with Satish’s girlfriend while on a conference call.

It’s probably the first Tamil film where a perfect balance is struck between science, romance and comedy interspersed with some fresh thrills.

Science angle, to be honest, is quite easy to follow if your basic knowledge of the subject is strong. For instance, there’s a scene where Urvashi explains to her daughter-in-law about how a potato can operate as an electromagnetic cell to power an LED clock, which could be used in the kitchen.

In another scene, she goes on to explain about the types of electrical cables while drying her clothes on it. Vasanth drives a solar bike, which initially felt totally unnecessary and seemed like the director was overselling the protagonist’s geeky side, but it comes to great use in the end.

And these details, though minute, make the director stand out from his contemporaries.

The writing is fresh and it’s evident from the way the director manages to make the parallely running stories converge at the end.

The director’s taste of comedy is of some standard and unlike others, he keeps the humour situational.

When Harini (Aishwarya) and her friend discuss about Vasanth being a sucker for romance and physical intimacy, there’s a lovely scene where Vasanth says, in science – smaller the size, greater the power.

And the director openly takes a dig at engineering college students and their management.

The flaws in TEOA stick out but they’re negligible, given the effort the team has put in to produce a solid social thriller.

Among the actors, Nakul and Sathish chip in with great performances. Urvashi is a delight to watch and it’s a shame she’s seldom used in Tamil cinema.

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