Thiruda Thiruda

I have to admit, though I am a huge Mani Ratnam fan, I was reluctant to watch this film, mainly because the impression I got was that it was a bad film. But i kept reading about the use of lighting and the cinematography, and i thought i'd give it a go.

This is probably the least Mani Ratnam-esquire film I have seen, the first 10 minutes i kept seeing homages to Sholay (the initial train sequence and the motorbike the police use) and i mainly put that down to RGV writing. The film gathers pace, characters get introduced, u have the fun chase sequences, some nice little exchanges, and before u realise it the film has finished. The result, a nice little commercial film, which I think is much better than most of the films of this genre made in 2005 in Bollywood. But then again this is Mani Ratnam we are talking about.

The really good things about this film; Brilliant songs, brilliant cinematography, you have to watch the song sequence of Chandralekha simply superb. Technically it is a good film. Well directed.

The bad things about this film; well i have to say, at times the film just looks really low-budget (especially when it comes to the special effects), the lead actors are a little disappointing i thought, apart from one of the actresses ( her character was called rasathi) the lead actors just lack charisma and anu agrawal at times looked a little overweight. the love-triangle was a little a pointless and the fact that it remained unresolved was disappointing.

i do recommend this film, but be aware that this is not a typical Mani Ratnam film so do not start watching the film with expectations of brilliant dialogues, a film grounded in realism, because you will feel a little disappointed.

If not for the movie, watch for songs. The attempt is worth it but the A class audience of Mani had watched many similar Hollywood movies like this made it a failure, I guess.

Well,this movie was not a great commercial success to mani sir's team,but i think this movie is technically superb.P.C.Sreeram,has don't an awesome job as usual for mani sir,but he used exceptionally good lighting techniques for songs.For the song "koncham nilavu",the lighting techniques were amazing.The story is pretty simple one,it is all about how a bank robbery makes two thiefs,a spy and a rural girl come together.The story was narrated in a simple way,as there is not much seriousness in the topic.This movie would be definitely enjoyed by people who like adventures and stuff like that.The songs are mind blowing in my opinion.though i like A.R.Rahman's compositions but this one is totally unique in my opinion.The song "thee thee"was composed with a mixture of Indian and western genres....is the best song in this movie.In fact,most of the people don't know the fact that,the lighting technique used in this movie was indeed used again in Lagaan-once upon a time in India which was nominated for the Oscars.Finally this one is a typical pop corn movie,and it does not tell any moral values or things like that to you as most of mani sir's movies tell....but it is quite enjoyable.I'd recommend the DVD!!

This movie was released long back. However, I viewed it again recently on DVD. Thiruda Thiruda has almost all the ingredients of a commercial Tamil movie - well-done dance sequences, catchy music, memorable songs, comedy, fights, chases, glamorous heroines, mindless villains, gun-toting henchmen who get beaten black and blue by bare-handed heroes and the rest. In fact, the movie has an interesting combination of various elements seen in different Tamil movies - affectionate brothers, village panchayats, policemen who turn into part-time comedians, triangle love, Robin Hood-like heroes who steal from the rich and give to the poor, rustic village belle and glamorous city gal; even the usual thaai maaman atha maga problems (Tamil movie-goers will understand that); and name a chase sequence, and you have it - on a motor bike, on a cycle, on a truck, on a car, on trains, and even on horses! Plus, the movie itself is littered with numerous actors, almost a quarter of the Tamil tinsel town should have figured in it.

It's to the director's credit that he has woven all these elements and more to give a clear and interesting screenplay with well-etched characters. Where he fails is the credibility department. Of course, one can't expect realism in commercial movies. But numerous sequences do test your patience. And then you realise why this movie with amazing songs, a different story and brilliant cinematography still failed to make it big at the box-office.

The story, by the way, is pretty simple - the villain's plan to pinch a 1000 crores of newly printed notes from the Indian government goes awry; the villain and the CBI begin their chase to track down the container; and two village thieves, their ladylove and the villain's mole get drawn into the scheme of things. The movie is worth a watch, especially the songs tuned by AR Rahman - Kannum kannum, Putham puthu bhoomi and Konjam nilavu in particular. The guy who plays Kadir (Anand) looks nice and does a neat job. Pity he hasn't been seen in many Tamil movies.

Stunning locales and exotic scenery lead the viewer right from India's mint at Nasik into meandering ravines and forests. The story and its conception was probably way ahead of its time, when such pace of action was unheard of, not to mention the extra morph of glamour that the film boldly and outrageously, though successfully, portrayed. This was probably one reason why the movie did not do well at the box office. Some good acting by S.P. Balasubramaniam as the CBI officer gives insights into the workings of the pre-eminent organization. Overall an urbane action flick with rustic romantic vibes, and laudable cinematography.