Thiru is a family drama cum love story. It begins with an accident, which is perhaps the only high moment in the entire narrative of this otherwise often repeated script.
Thiru (Dhanush) who is named after his grandfather (Bharathiraja) Thiru Ekambaram lives with his father and grandfather. Evidently this family with just three male members is a troubled paradise, with Thiru often displaying anger and resentment towards his father, who is also a police man for no reason. A secret in the past is an intrigue that holds the audience for a little too long – read until after the interval, only to reveal that Thiru blames his father for the death of his mother and sister in an accident that is straight out of text book – Prakash Raj is checking his phone while driving and accident happens (could have made for a good traffic safety reel – much needed otherwise – but does not add anything to the story).
Eventually the hero has a change of heart, followed by change in the way he looks at the world and his fears too vanish – but then that’s giving away too much in a review – or is it?
Thiru directed by Mithran Jawahar, ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ in Tamil is an attempt to create a slice-of-life drama, of relationships, friendship and love with the best of the cast conceivable but falls flat on many counts – for one – its way too predictable.
Thiru is a deviation from regular action roles that Dhanush does, but unfortunately except for his simple next-door not so happening boy kind of an image that one already saw in Raghuavaran Btech, there isn’t much meat in his characterization. Two other biggies – Prakash Raj and Bharathiraja too are wasted in the film, not to mention Revathi – who is limited to a frame in the house for most part of the film. While there is much scope for a great drama – you don’t see any of it as they go about their middle-class lives like everyone else.
The film has Nithya Menen as the best friend, and two other female actors – Raashi Khanna and Priya Bhavani Shankar come and go, and help our hero to realise his true love.
To give the film credit where its due – it is charming in a way, as the characters are very relatable, the situations are life-like and familiar, the actors did well in the given frame work and endearing too – but the director seems to have forgotten the basic law of film making – Story Telling. Thiru fails to make an impression. Music director Anirudh Ravichandran’s background score shines in parts – at other time it only adds to the misery.
