Sivakumar Murugasen’s story has shades of both Balagam and Ram Prasad Ki Tervi. The unraveling of family secrets as well as the greedy acts of family members have a distinct familiarity. Having said that Thaai Kizhavi is an entertaining movie with a relevant message on a woman’s financial independence. Radhika Sarathkumar as the matriarch/godmother figure has an absolute blast embracing the character’s whacky nature with gay abandon. Her presence can be amply felt even in the scenes which don’t feature her.
Director and writer: Sivakumar Murugasen
Starcast: Radhika Sarathkumar, Bala Sarvanan, Munishkanth etc
Genre: Comedy/drama
Producers: Sivakartikeyan, Kalai Arasu, and Sudhan Sundaram
Production houses: Passion Studios and Sivakartikeyan Productions
Music: Nivas K Prasanna
Cinematography: Vivek Vijaykumar ‘
Streaming site: Hotstar
Running time: 2 hours and 24 minutes
Thaai Kizhavi with Sivakartikeyan as one of the producers has made solid profits at the box office along with positive critical reception. Radhika Sarathkumar has been rightly hailed for her killer act in spite of not having a lot of screen time. There is no denying that Thaai Kizhavi gives a major deva ju of some old films. The angle of selfish sons is a done to death trope. At the same time the movie has a freshness too and this essentially comes from the theme of a woman having her own autonomy. The rural atmospherics makes the main difference.
Thaai Kizhavi’s story in brief is about Radhika’s Pavunuthaayi. Pavunuthaayi is a strong matriarch living life on her own terms. The villagers are very scared with some wishing for her death too. Things take a dramatic turn with Pavunuthaayi getting bedridden. Celebrations start with many enjoying. This includes her own family members praying for her death. But the revelation of the mother stashing gold somewhere changes everything. This is the plot in a nutshell.
A strong aspect of Thaai Kizhavi is the characterization of Radhika coupled with the veteran actress performance. The badass nature of Pavunuthaayi has come out in a solid manner. Its deliberately massy and not for all but Radhika’s conviction makes it hugely enjoyable. Though Radhika is mostly bedridden after a point her presence is still amply felt. A major credit for that goes to writer and director Sivakumar Murugasen.
The odd ball characters with the rural quirks take a while to sink in but once the plot settles down, they are hugely enjoyable too. A special mention must be made of a drunkard villager who threatens his deity Karuppan on becoming a Sai devotee if his prayers aren’t answered. His scenes have chuckle worthy moments. A mention must also be made of Munishkanth’s Pennycuick a forty-year-old desperate for marriage. His reasons for wanting a partner and how he eventually finds someone gives the movie some of its best moments too.
The legendary Kamal Hassan is an omnipresent figure in the way his songs has been used. It spans across different eras, and this includes the one from Vishwaroopam too. The interval block with Vishwaroopam’s title song and the frantic manner in which the mother is taken to the hospital is an absolute hoot.
From mid second half the movie turns into a story of curated change. This can be seen in the way one of the sons has a change of heart. All it takes is one scene inside an ambulance. This transformation feels more manufactured than organic. Having said that Bala Sarvanan sells this moment, an emotional number by Nivas K Prasanna also helps. The second half also has a shift in terms of how the viewers see Pavunuthaayi. In the beginning we are given an impression of her being a desi Shylock. She threatens about disrobing a woman if she doesn’t pay. But the second half presents a different facet. Especially a woman character talking about how the matriarch encouraged her to be financially independent.
The climatic speech of Radhika Sarathkumar serves as a perfect conclusion to the movie’s core feminist theme. The dialogues related to financial independence have a solid punch. The movie also does a good job in normalizing re marriage particularly in the rural context. This has come out well through the montage of Pavunuthaayai encouraging her daughter to start life afresh after a difficult first marriage.
