Thambi Movie Review: Karthi-Jyothika Movie Is Carefully Knit With Convincing Twists!

With Kaithi, Karthi has set the bar higher and when he comes up with yet another film, that too with acclaimed filmmaker Jeethu Joseph, expectations are sure to be sky-high. Moreover, the movie also has Jyothika in it and marks her first collaboration with Karthi. Has Thambi lived up to the hype? Read our take on the film to know more.

Plot

Parvathy (Jyothika), the elder daughter of a politician named Gnanamurthy, is still reeling under the grief of being estranged from her brother Saravanan, who went missing 15 years ago. However, one fine day, Gnanamoorthy gets to know about a youngster named Vicky, who claims to be his long-lost son. What happens rest has been narrated in Thambi.

Screenplay & Performances

Jeethu Joseph is well-known for his films laced with thrill and suspense, and the director carefully knits Thambi, providing the right treatment and pacing the film requires. The writing of the film may not look completely convincing in the beginning but as the story progresses with some of the twists getting unveiled, the screenplay gets racy. Jeethu Joseph should be credited for neatly presenting them without any jarring moments.

Another factor that is very much striking about Thambi is the characterisations. The core characters of the film have been developed in a way that keeps the audiences guessing about the proceedings. With such an unpredictability factor lingering around, Thambi turns out to be a journey of surprises, especially in the second half. A suspense thriller wins when it overshadows the guesses of the audiences. Thambi has those moments, which are presented without throwing the logic factor away.

With Karthi in top form, the first half of the film does have some fun moments. It would have been good if more of such sequences were there as the initial half moves at a leisurely pace. Hence, the first half might look lacklustre at parts and that is where the film finds it hard to draw attention.

Nevertheless, the second half makes up for all of that by taking the audiences for a thoroughly entertaining ride. Jeethu Joseph has packed the emotional moments convincingly, which helps the film move to another level from being just a usual thriller. However, there are moments where the drama does go overboard.

Performances

Needless to say, Karthi is simply stunning in his role as a fraudster, who comes in a disguise. In fact, it is he who drives the movie forward in the first half with some stunning comical sequences, elevated to a new level with minute expressions. There are some golden moments, which only an actor like him could have pulled off. Moreover, his transition to the emotional terrain is also convincing and well within the spectrum of the character. Jyothika as Parvathy adds the desired intensity to the character and the brother-sister chemistry has worked out pretty well. Nikhila Vimal as Sanjana also makes an impact. Sathyaraj is stunning with his immense screen presence and matured performance. Anson Paul looks pretty good as a cop and has put up a faithful performance. However, his character could have been developed in a better way. Hareesh Peradi, Bala, Sowcar Janaki and others have also done a neat job.

Other Aspects

Govind Vasantha's music deserves special mention and the background score looks too good as it suite the film's mood. RD Rajasekhar's cinematography is splendid. Editing is also fine even though it felts like there are a few loose ends in the first half.

Verdict

With a good storyline, which has been packaged with convincing twists and striking emotional sequences backed by good performances, Thambi turns out to be a pretty fine-watch.