Thanga Meengal Movie Review

                    

Thanga Meengal

Direction : Ram

Music Director : Yuvan Shankar Raja

Cinematography: Arbhindu Saraa

Cast: Ram, Sadhana, Rohini and Sally

                          After watching 'Katrathu Tamizh', I had become a fan of director 'Ram' and I had been awaiting his next release for the last five years. Ram's second venture 'Thanga Meengal' has remained in the cans for quite a long time, and finally now, it has seen the light of the day. This movie is about the relationship between a near jobless father Kalyani (Ram) and his young daughter Chellamma. Kalyani simply adores his daughter, and he would go to any lengths to make her smile. But Kalyani does not have any steady income and he is dependent on his father . Chellamma is a slow learner, and is very often rebuked at school, by few teachers. Chellamma is shown to be very inquisitive and keeps bugging everyone with loads of questions.Chellama is obsessed with a particular fantasy involving 'Thanga Meengal' (Gold Fishes)

                                 The first half is brilliant. All the characters are quite strong, be it Kalyani's wife,or 'Rohini' who plays his mother. The conversations that Chellamma has with her friend, Nityashree who stays next door are simply amazing and realistic. The girl who plays Nityashree is adorable. Padmapriya plays a cameo as a teacher in Chellamma's school and her role is quite limited. However, there are few questions left unanswered about her, particularly when Kalyani goes to meet her at her house. Ram seems to be a natural when it comes to acting, and plays the role of an impractical man with his own set of principles, to near perfection in the first half. However, he goes overboard on his emotions during the second half - which does not go well. Kalyani is forced to leave his daughter and wife in search of a job and the rest of the story deals with the family's turmoils. The director has subtly made digs at our educational system and he has also mocked the manner, in which some private schools function. 

                                               The second half is slow and starts to try your patience before we start seeing some action.The climax is heart whelming and it is sure to strike a chord with everyone. The subtle justification for the title at the very end is apt.The movie is a treat for the eyes, and you are sure to fall in love with the village that Chellamma lives in;the village is very scenic.  The camera work in this movie is outstanding and enhances the beauty of the village. Yuvan's music is a big plus to this movie and the already popular 'Ananda Yazhai' is a visual treat, with some superb and innovative visualization. Kudos to Ram and the producer, Gautham menon for giving us an offbeat product with no commercial elements. Ram proves his talent yet again. The film has many flaws, but the final product is good. There are some scenes which test your patience and there are some outstanding scenes, which really touches your heart. 

                      Sadhana who plays chellama is an excellent find and she has literally lived her character - an award winning performance for sure. Tamil movies mostly, be it Mani ratnam's movies of the yore, or some recent movies had always given us artificial child characters - there have been many exceptions to this case,say the movie 'Pasanga' was an exception, where children were shown as 'children'. Ram has successfully achieved the same in this movie, given that it is a herculean task to make a child act. 

           On the whole, compared to the recent trash that the Tamil industry has been showering upon us, this movie is good and a definite watch. This movie is a very brave attempt and is quite brilliant at points, though it is let down in the second half by its screenplay and few over dramatic scenes, it stands tall with the help of some well etched and strong characters.

What I feel

My rating - 6.75/10

What the Internet says 

According to Indiaglitz, "Ram deserves a special mention for his direction cum acting, with only two movies he has proved his mettle and Kollywood needs more directors like him no doubt."

Prashanth Reddy of Desimartini wrote, "It ["Thanga Meengal"] sets out to genuinely win our affections but manages to do that only on certain rare occasions. Save for a couple of strong scenes, the film is otherwise a mawkish puppy which keeps coming back to lick your heart. And in case you were wondering, it doesn't pack even half of the emotional punch of 'Katradhu Tamizh'."

M Suganth of The Times of India wrote, "Thanga Meenkal shares many of Kattradhu Tamizh's film's strengths and flaws. It is a well-intentioned effort, strikingly shot, and held together by persuasive performances. At the same time, it is also relentlessly grim and bludgeons you into submitting to the point of view of the film maker, and by the time it ends, makes you believe you have personally gone through the ordeals of the film's characters."