Thangalaan Movie Review: A Tale of Two Halves
Vikram’s dedication to his role in Thangalaan is truly commendable; his performance alone is worthy of an award. While the technical aspects like the background music, the title song, and the camera work are superb, the film as a whole does not live up to expectations. It ultimately lands as an average watch, best described in one line as a “very good first half, very poor second half.”
A Promising Plot and An Engaging Start
The film’s story is set during the 1850s in the Kolar region of Karnataka. The central plot revolves around gold—the struggle to acquire it and the fight to protect it. This is the basic premise, so there’s no need to worry about major spoilers.
The movie starts well, opening with an action sequence that provides an excellent experience. The powerful shouts, the intense background score, and the strong performances in this portion are exceptional. The first half continues to build from here, slowly but effectively. It creates an interesting setup with moments that feel like a National Geographic documentary or Discovery’s “Gold Rush,” making for a compelling watch. Every technical department delivers high-quality work in this section.
The Second Half Collapse
The primary issue with the film is its second half, which completely derails the experience. After a solid setup, the story fails to develop any further. Instead, the narrative gets stuck in a loop, repeating the same points over and over, which quickly becomes boring and drags significantly.
This lack of progression extends all the way to the end, resulting in a climax that provides absolutely no sense of satisfaction. The strong foundation built in the first half is unfortunately let down by a story that goes nowhere.
Disconnected Themes and Flawed Writing
A major point of failure is the attempt to link the gold treasure plot with the theme of caste oppression. The two concepts do not sync at all. The story, which starts as a quest for gold, abruptly falls into a completely different narrative track, leaving the audience with no emotional connection.
Malavika’s character, for instance, is introduced with an exciting elevation, but the climax completely fails to do her justice, leaving you to wonder what all the hype was for. The writing also suffers from a forced perspective, particularly with the idea that workers, after being paid for their labor, would then demand a share of the treasure. This point feels illogical and forced into the script due to the director’s personal ideology. The writing presents a one-sided argument, failing to properly integrate the antagonists’ perspectives with the central themes.
Final Verdict
On the performance front, everyone has done an excellent job. Vikram and Malavika are on another level. GV’s background music is top-tier, as is the “Thangalaan” title song, though the other songs in the film are not good. The cinematography is also beautiful.
The film’s experience is significantly brought down by the out-of-sync theme of oppression. Had the movie stuck to being a treasure hunt film, it might have been something else entirely. It is watchable for its first half and some well-executed scenes. On a final note, the movie contains no adult scenes or bad language.
