தென்னவன்

For a change I want to review this new movie in English for added effect. Read along..!!

Thennavan is the ultimate comedy movie from Captain Vijaykanth in recent times. It ranks across such classic comedies from him as Narasimha, Raajjiyam, Thaayakam, etc. For someone who has given good films like Vallarasu, Ramana and Chinna Koundar, the fare that he is dishing out in recent times is very disappointing, to say the least.

The introduction sequence is one of the greatest introductions anybody can ever get in any film. It goes like this: We are shown the death of a very pregnant lady. Then scene cuts to graveyard, where arrangements are being made to cremate the lady.. There somebody notices that the lady is still alive(!!@#$%) and they hurriedly perform an operation and deliver the child.. The camera pans on the child being pulled out of the mother's womb upside down, and as the mother dies, the words, "puratchi kalainjarin THENNAVAN" appear on the screen..!! Now, if you thought the introduction was over, please correct yourself and read along. This boy who was born in the above circumstances goes to school.. In first standard, the teacher is teaching the class about the song, "nilaa nilaa Odi vaa.." This boy gets up and says that nilaa will not come to us, but we only have to go to the nilaa..!! Seeing his 'scientific temperament' at such a young age, he is getting double-promoted to third standard immediately..!!!

There is more to this introduction still coming.. In third standard, the teacher is not interested in holding intellectual conversations with his students. So he warns this boy that he shouldn't be talking unnecessarily in the class.. But the boy replies that only because he talked in the previous class, he has got promoted here. Again this impresses the school management very much for some reason and he gets double promoted to fifth standard. In the next shot, we see Captain fully grown and he is sitting in an office, with the name board saying, "Thennavan IAS, Chief Election Commissioner of India." Now I'm not sure if Captain was promoted directly from the fifth standard to become IAS because it is not clearly shown. But there is a high possibility for that, considering that much of his actions are childish..!! (In fact, one of my friends who watched the movie writes to say that he was initially wondering why they are showing an introduction for Vivek in the very first scene. Only later he realised that it is the introduction of Captain himself..!!)

However, after the great introduction scene (which can give a tough fight to Narasimha introduction), the film becomes more of a Captain's speech based entertainment.. The enjoyment is purely derived from the unbelievable dialogues that he speaks. Examples: "If you stand anywhere below a tree, all the branches will give shade.. Similarly whoever works below me, they all should be honest..!!", "I am not a candle that you can blow off easily.. I am a continuously erupting volcano..!!", etc.. (This last dialogue is the reason for the film being promoted with the caption as "Thennavan - the burning man!!") Another dialogue is "You people go and pelt stones at Ganguly's house if India loses a cricket match.. Why don't you pelt stones at the MLA's house if he doesn't perform properly..??"

As for the storyline, he is the Chief Election Commissioner. The first fight takes place in Mumbai where some undesirable elements are trying to disrupt the election process. He fights in Matrix style flying with unbelievable angular punches and kicks. Then he gets transferred to TamilNadu, his home state. (I don't know how a Chief Election Commissioner of the whole country gets transferred to a state. Please don't ask such logic qiestions..) As he is fed up with the bad ways of the politicians, he wants to implement election reforms. So he announces a five point plan which includes no contesting in more than one constituency, no campaigning by CM or ministers in by-elections, power to call back the elected representative if he doesn't perform well, etc. But there is oppostion from all the Chief Ministers in the country so the PM is forced to stop this plan, even though he personally favours the plan. Captain conducts elections in TamilNadu according to existing methods and one day before polling there is a bomb blast in CM Naasser's meeting and many get killed. Captain gets into the investigation process himself, watches video tape of the meeting and goes and bashes up the suspect and gets the truth from him that CM himself planted the bomb to generate sympathy factor, but the primary suspect has escaped.

Captain stops the election counting process. CM goes to court and there Thennavan reveals the truth about the bomb but says he is yet to nab the primary suspect. CM himself offers to produce this primary suspect (who is kept away by the CM) at court who will refute all such allegations. (So Captain has achieved the objective of getting the culprit to court premises.., do you get that??) This primary culprit is a Muslim gangster. Ha, I forgot to tell you that all through the proceedings, Captain himself is arguing the case like a skilled advocate. There is a big box in Captain's table and the camera shows it often when the muslim gangster is being interrogated. He, however, refutes whatever Captain is saying and even says the Captain has got some mental problems.. Captain then goes to the box and reveals the Holy Quran. He takes it to the gangster and asks him to promise on it that he did not plant any bomb.. After some great acting by thalaivaasal vijay in this scene (who is the gangster) he finally admits his crime and also informs the court that the CM himself asked him to do this. So the court orders imprisonment to CM, but asks the counting in other constituencies to be carried on. As expected, the CM's party has won. So the CM chooses his appaavi wife Urvasi to become the CM, in Laloo-RabriDevi style. This leads to some supposedly comedy scenes where she doesn't know how to interact with governor, officials, etc.

In the meanwhile some romance is going on between Kiran and Captain. Actually, that is because of one great scene in the beginning.. When Captain gets transferred to Chennai, he is coming by train. Kiran's family is also travelling by the same train. Suddenly Kiran's father gets a heart attack.. So Captain rushes to him and says that he knows this type of heart attacks and he has the suitable pill for it. He gives one pill to be kept under the tongue in the mouth. Kiran's father feels better. At next station a doctor comes, and after inspecting the patient, asks Captain what is the pill that he gave that produced such a brilliant result. Captain reveals that what he gave was only ordinary "Gems" mittaay, because at such critical time only confidence is required, not the actual medicinal stuff. Kiran is way too impressed by this terrific behaviour. And after few songs, they get married. Actually Kiran tricks Captain into translating what she says in English to Tamil. In English she says, "I will marry you." When Captain translates that into Tamil and says, he is caught and he couldn't refuse the marriage proposal thereafter,because "madurai-kkaaran sonna sol thavaRa maattaan"..!! Oh My God..!!!!!!!

Some Vivek comedy is there, but it is not very impressive. He traces the growth of an ordinary person who is believed to be a dada due to some of his accidental actions, who goes on to become a politician..

In meantime, former CM has come out on bail and he arranges for Captain to be arrested. In prison, the muslim gangster is killed by the jailor who is the kaiyaaL of former CM. So the case in Supreme Court appeal is lost and former CM is released as innocent. Similar way, they plan to murder Captain in jail, but the present CM (former CM's wife) bowing to people's dharna and road roko agitation, orders the release of Thennavan. This leads to a fight between the CM and her husband and he slaps her. She is very despaired that her husband has lost all love for her only due to this CM post, and so submits the resignation letters of all MLAs that she has with her to the governor, recommending to dissolve the assembly and hold fresh elections. Captain is disgusted by the stupid reason for new election, that is a husband and wife fight. He realises that it is time to campaign for his five point plan again. So, he resigns his post and goes to the people urging them not to vote in the forthcoming elections. Everywhere the people boycott the elections, there is not even single vote polled in entire state. Even the ex-CM and his MLAs are all chased away by people when they come to vote. So all politicians relaise that the people have "awaken" and so agree to have the Thennavan plan. So PM congratulates Captain on his work and takes him back as the Chief Election Commissioner (????!!!!)

In the final scene, Captain is going away in his car, while the backdrop voice announces that 'Thennavan continued his crusades in such manner and due to his personal efforts, the black money of Indian politicians stashed away in Swiss banks were all recovered and it was utilised in developing the country's position in eductaion, health, science and technology, etc and finally India became a vallarasu country, as dreamed by Thennavan.'

I am left with no words to describe such a picture. Although I can say that if you are a person who can do with some laughs, do see his picture. Unlimited entertainment guaranteed..!!