Review of Thamizh

Introduction

At last, another Indian movie with a criminal underworld boss as part of the storyline. There`s a turf war going on between two factions but this spills over into injuring an innocent young girl. The niece of Thamizh (Prashanth) no less. When he questions the Boss, Periyavar (Ashish Vidyarthi), about this, it`s deemed an insult and for his insolence he`ll pay a hefty price.

This is the reason why Thamizh has changed and become violent. He was a peaceful chap just getting on with his life and taking care of his friends and family, when this gangland thing happens. He`s driven to violence by violence and descends into crime by joining a rival gang. Against this backdrop is the woman that he falls in love with, Meenakshi (Simran), simply the most beautiful school teacher I`ve ever seen. She disapproves of the violence and is heartbroken when Thamizh joins a gang and behaves badly towards her. It`s inexcusable is what, especially what he says to her.

But there is a way out for Thamizh in the shape of his brother who comes back from Kuwait. He can get work out there, get away from all of this and start over. And just when things are improving, it seems that the boss, Periyavar, isn`t so easy to shake off and things get progressively worse before getting better. It involves violence against Thamizh`s mother, and this is just something you don`t do, ever. Oh boy, there`s trouble brewing. Can he find peace, and still get the woman that he loves?

Video

This has a cropped 2.20:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This spoils the films composition in some scenes as people are right at the edge of the frame. I have no idea why this cropping problem keeps occuring in these Indian films. On the whole though, the video quality isn`t bad. Colours are well balanced and detail is quite good too. As usual however, there`s dirt and dust all the way through the film. It`s not off putting though.

Audio

Originally recorded with a DTS soundtrack, we instead get the Tamil DD5.1 track. I have to say though that it sounds good. The music really stands out and for once, the tunes are actually decent enough for me to pump up the volume! Dialogue is clear, even though I can`t understand Tamil, and there are minimal amounts of hiss.

Features

The only special features here the animated menus, English subtitles and movies trailers for Gemini and Samurai. It`s a shame the menus here aren`t consistent, there are very different styles here that just don`t match or fall into any particular theme.

The subtitling here is very poor. For example in one song where Thamizh and Meenakshi sing to each other, this subtitle came up, "You`re a vegetarian in men. I`ve become a non-vegetarian with your gestures." Bear in mind that there isn`t a vegetable or other food in sight, so what does it all mean? Answers on the back of a postcard to the usual Reviewer address please.

Conclusion

I enjoyed this film. Yes, it`s a bit long at around 150 minutes, but it wasn`t as bad as I first thought. The story is simple enough and it`s entertaining. The songs too are good, notables here are "Kannukkule Kaadihalaa", "Thikkudhe Thikkudhe" and "Kolladhe Solladhe". Days after seeing the movie I`m still singing those songs. It was quite amusing to hear some of Brad Fiedel`s "Terminator 2" score as well as Bernard Herrmann`s "North by Northwest" mixed in with some Indian beats.

The fight sequences are a big part of a lot of Indian movies, and Thamizh doesn`t disappoint. But, there are some overly long fighting scenes that verge on boring. You can guess the outcome, and the martial arts style sound effects are all well and good, but don`t let it drag on. This is one of my few criticisms of what I saw. Otherwise this is an entertaining film.

Extras here are poor, as always. But then you`re getting a two and half hour film, with English subtitles and two movie trailers. What more could you possibly want apart from decent subtitles? How about biographies for newbies like me? That would go some way to help me identify who it is I`m swooning to! In case you`re wondering, it`s the wonderful Simran (Meenakshi).

Good songs, good, if a little over the top, acting, and an okay story too. If you like Indian movies then this will come as no surprise to you, it`s predictable, but aren`t they all? Worth renting for sure, worth buying if you`re a fan and have to have all that singing and dancing stuff. :-)