‘Thodari’ a damp squib

By Mythily Ramachandran

You board this train expecting it to be an interesting journey with director Prabhu Solomon and team, but it turns out to be a big let -down.

The GT Express departing from Delhi is on way to Chennai. And, it takes a long while for the train, sorry I mean the story, to pick up steam.
To begin with, the inane comedy revolving around the pantry car manager, (Thambi Ramiah) who is the butt of jokes among his team of workers, does little to tickle you. Ramiah’s delivery and expressions are the same that you have been seeing in film after film.

Poochiappan (Dhanush), one of the pantry attendants falls in love with Saroja (Keerthy Suresh) a young woman accompanying a well -known star. Saroja is her touch up artist. After initially rebuffing Poochiappan, who makes passes at her, she falls for his trick when he tells her that the noted lyricist Vairamuthu is his friend. Saroja aspires to become a singer in the industry and believes that she can sing well. She hopes Poochiappan will help her by putting in a word to Vairamuthu.

Love brews but unlike Solomon’s earlier films, ‘Myna,’ ‘Kumki’ and ‘Kayal’ this love story lacks a depth. There is nothing that makes you feel for the lovers except towards the end when the train in the absence of a driver is hurtling towards an imminent catastrophe.

While a rescue team is working on saving the passengers on the train, there is a commentary on politicians. There is a dig at the media too for sensationalizing news, but these scenes are sloppily presented.

‘Thodari’ seems to have thrown all logic to the winds. Dhanush dances and sings and even fights people on the roof of the train which is racing at a high speed.

Harish Uthaman’s character as a black commando, picks a quarrel for no reason with Poochiappan which seemed far-fetched. And, why the dialogue between the two over who is better- a Tamilian or a Malayali.

Poor characterization, a weak script and the two hours plus duration pulls ‘Thodari’ down. What saves the film is Dhanush’s casual performance. The star does not disappoint as Poochiappan.

Keerthi Suresh’s also deserves a pat for her cute portrayal of the naïve Saroja. The scenes where she wants to sing to show Dhanush that she has the potential to become a singer will leave you in splits.