Ivan Thanthiran Review -  Fairly simple but works !!

Bharath Vijayakumar

The hero taking on the education mafia is certainly not a novel plot point. R.Kannan's Ivan Thanthiran is the third film of the year to tread this path after Bairavaa and Yeidhavan. The good thing here is that less prominent the star and the movie seems to be better. 

Plot:

The hero who is a tech geek uses his wizardry to bring down the villain.

The best thing about the film is that it keeps everything simple. Even the actors operate in a low key manner. Gautham Karthik seems to be getting more comfortable and this is the closest that he has looked at being at ease on screen. The film rides on RJ. Balaji's one liners for a substantial part and the comedian never goes overboard and the jokes are funny. May not be the 'laugh out loud' kind of comedy but he does ensure that you have a consistent smile on your face. A request to filmmakers. I did laugh at a joke when RJ Balaji comments on the looks of someone who collects the used plates at a restaurant. On surface it looks like a compliment when he says to the person that you look good and you do not have a face that should be doing this job. But this subconscious idea that we have ingrained in ourselves that people who do certain jobs should look a certain way could have far reaching repercussions. The way this scene plays out seems harmless and surely the makers did not seem to have any intention to mock at the job. But this appearance to job mapping that most of us have in our minds, needs to be got rid of.

The film keeps things tight as well and there isn't much flab except for the opening song. The villain too is surprisingly effective in the sense that there is a definite consistency in the way he behaves. There have been too many films in the recent past that give us a terrorising opinion about the villain, only to reduce him to a clown in the climax. The melodrama is kept in check or rather absent. The scenes that lead to the suicide of an engineering student play out fast and thankfully, all this is treated in a manner where we are not expected to believe that this is a film that intends to change our society in 2 hours. It certainly does want to speak about something important but it also knows that the primary intent is to deliver a low-key entertainer, which it does satisfactorily. Watch Kannan's previous Oru Oorla Rendu Raaja and you might understand what I am trying to imply.

The love angle is treated in a rather refreshing way. Just when you think that the lead pair is going to break into a duet, the girl says that she is not the person for love and marriage. You are pleasantly surprised. When the hero then tries to convince her the need of a partner later on in life, she does not budge and responds nonchalantly and you pinch yourself in disbelief. You really want to thank the makers at this point but then the following scene throws a googly and we are back to square one. It is not about belittling the concept of love and marriage but why would you have a strong career oriented woman who talks all these things in the earlier scenes only to take it all back very soon. These scenes sort of send a signal that the girl has to choose between love and career. Coexistence of these two seem far fetched in mainstream Tamil cinema.

Bottomline:

Ivan Thanthiran achieves what it sets out to do. A low-key entertainer that does a fair job.

Rating:2.75/5