Thalaivaa - A Genuine Godfather Attempt.

Directed by A.L.Vijay starring Vijay, Amala Paul, Sathyaraj and Santhanam in lead roles, Thalaivaa is another Godfather attempt in Indian Cinema. We've seen many films like Nayagan, Sarkar, Sarkar Raj, Devar Meagan with same characterization. There are even films which failed trying such characters . For instance, Bharat starring Thambiku Indha Orru , in which Prabhu is portrayed in such role. But director A.L.Vijay has clearly given the credits to directors who made such attempts in the past. I agree with A.L.Vijay, because Maniratnam's Nayagan would have been inspired by Maria Puzo's Godfather(but Nayagan story was based on a real life character), Ramagopal Varma's was inspired from Godfather and Nayagan. Such way, Thalaivaa is also an inspired script. No doubt about that. But the director has done justice to the story. The story can be anything, can be adapted from anywhere, but developing a screenplay for the story is a most challenging part. It was amazing to see such a comeback from A.L.Vijay whose previous film Thandavam was a below average one. A.L.Vijay with his experiences from past successful films and lessons from the film which failed, has tried giving a good movie this time. Few scenes on the first half were unnecessary which could have been avoided. The story moves from Australia to Mumbai not with a racy screenplay, but with slow and steady phase, with the effect of giving a drama genre movie. Few scenes were adapted from films like Nayagan and Sarkar. Costume of Sathyataj was created with reference from Sarkar. The flag concept used in "Thalaivaa" song was taken from Sarkar Raj. I don't know why I differ from other critics with the point that first half was slower than the second half.  There were few logical errors in the film, but were no flaws. If we need a mass entertainer tamil movie without logical errors , we should have stopped watching tamil films two decades back. Few dialogues were good. Instance when Vijay asks Udhaya to shoot the guy from browsing centre("Avana kolrathuku engaluku karanam dhan iruku, aana unaku dhan urimai iruku"). Few scenes for the antagonist Abhimanyu Singh were childish. One thing we have to understand is that , this is not a usual actor Vijay movie. This is a different journal. It has to be played this way. Director Vijay has made a genuine attempt. The character he chose were good. Actor Vijay had played such Don roles in the past, which were nasty due to his efforts to establish himself as a mass hero. But thanks that, he changed his acting from Kavalan, which I would say a wiser decision. In Thalaivaa, Vijay has put good efforts, which pays. His performance was calm and shuttle. No heavier and no-sense lunch dialogues, no unnecessary gimmicks. This is a role which every mass hero in Tamil industry would wish to do. It has perfectly Vijay. Amala Paul was beautiful and appealing in the first half. But as a police officer, this was a heavier role for her. Ragini, though comes in the second half and plays major role,  she will a have warm welcome from the south. Sathyaraj played more or  less similar role with his 2012 Telugu movie Mirchi(starting Prabhas and Anuskha). But this kinda performance from him is very rare for Tamil audience. Santhanam apart from his timely dialogue puts in some good performance too. The scene in which Vijay turns into Don was powerful, thanks to G.V.Prakashkumar for his racy "Thalaivaa" song. G.V's background score in few scenes were really good. He also made his on-screen debut in "Vaanganna" song. Na.Muthukumar's lyrics had given boost to the songs. Costumes by Rajendran must be appreciated for sure. Especially costumes for the lead roles in Australia were perfect. Nirav shah's efforts pays as usual. The chasing sequence in the train station involving Udhaya and villains was great. There were no unnecessary shakes and 360° rotation in camera when hero speaks punch dialogue. Thalaivaa with all its plus and minus , is trademark movie in both Vijays' career(A.L.Vijah and actor Vijay). More than a commercial entertainer, this movie is a mass entertainer.