Thaanaa Serndha Koottam

This movie was a hit for Surya after very long time, editing of this movie could have been better, as sometimes you really get confused, whether you are in current or flashback. Comedy scenes were enjoyable too!

When you watch Special 26, you will feel that there is no single protagonist in the movie. Every character in the movie was given a importance of a leading role.

Unfortunately in the Tamil version everything revolves around the hero. Its very sad state of affair. Movie should have been named as Surya :). I am not sure if directors have to compromise for the star dom.

Vignesh knows the trick to convert a serious movie to a commercial masala movie. The whole essence of the original movie is the essence of the real life feel. Not a single moment of the movie you will feel real.

Cinematography... is a consolation from Dinesh

On the one side creators produce next generation movies like Aruvi, Aramm and on other hand this is what you have got is this.

Imagine a Shankar's vigilante film blended with strong humor. That's what Vignesh Shivan's Thaanaa Serndha Koottam offers. Being the remake of Special 26, the film is definitely intriguing with its elements that gather all types of audiences. Suriya looks charismatic and energetic as usual. His performance doesn't need any further explanation because it's quite satisfying. Apart from him, we have very strong supporting actors with each and everyone has an equal share of screen space. They are able to lift the film along with Suriya with their performances. The only criticism would be for Keerthy Suresh. She doesn't have a purposeful role and she is less impactful. Technically, Thaanaa Serndha Koottam sounds really loud and it's worth mentioning that the recreation of the 80s period was a major strength for the film. Anirudh's album and background score are really intense and delightful. Okay! It's time to talk about Vignesh Shivan. As a filmmaker, he proved his strengths through Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. One might notice that Vignesh Shivan has strength in transforming a supposed to be serious film into a complete comedy riot. In Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, we have a typical Shankar kind of social issue that is treated as hilarious as possible. That's why Thaanaa Serndha Koottam is a fresh new experience. The kind of efforts that he used to build the environment and the characters are probably not much in the screenplay. There are so many ups and downs in the screenplay that might distract our attention from the film. Every character in the film has a backstory which is the reason why the film doesn't keep us on track. Just like a Shankar film, the hero has a motive to justify his con act. This is mostly one of the aspects that we have seen in every vigilante or social issue-based film. Except for the comedy aspect, Thaanaa Serndha Koottam lacks emotional impacts and surprising elements. Even the twist, in the end, seems to be not so attention grabber because it becomes somehow predictable to the audience. Overall, this heist comedy is a fun watch.

For those that haven't watched special 26, this is one ride of a movie, but for those that did, the movie has so many unexplained scenes and stories which are left to the imagination of the viewer. The set up from 1987 seemed to be logical and refreshing to bring in old actors like Karthick, Sendhil but so many loopholes existed where a modern CCTV Camera is shown and said to be from 1987 and so many other little things which would have gone unnoticed to the normal viewer. Karthick's acting seemed a bit too forced and unnatural and the jokes were a bit too cringy. Sad that R.J Balaji didn't get much on screen time. I would recommend the audience to watch the original Special 26. Good for the mindless "MASSS" seeking kollywood audience. Keerthy Suresh's involvement in the first scene is left unexplained. Overall screenplay was not so smooth as it was all too rushed and jumbled up. Unnecessary elements were brought in,maybe to amplify the intensity of the scene but proved useless overall.

It's a remake alright. But that's probably the reason the movie falters. The remake has been "altered" to "suit" Tamil audience and hence slips into the boring category at times. The director is confused as to what direction he must be taking this movie in - movie with a message or a con-comedy movie. Unfortunately that weighs down the screenplay. The con scenes are well executed but the backstory and the message attempt fail to impress. Could have been much better has it been a con-comedy.