Thulli Vilaiyadu

Synopsis: Three friends – an aspiring businessman, a wannabe actor and a small-time politician – are trying their best to get a break that can change their lives for the better. In a windfall, they get Rs18 crore which belongs to politician Saamy Malai (Jayaprakash). Malai seeks thug Singamuthu’s (Prakash Raj) help to trace the money.

Review: Movies dealing with crime and humour have been the flavour of the season. ‘Thulli Vilaiyadu’ is one such attempt, which later takes the shape of a road movie. Although it sounds like a delectable combination, director-writer Vincent Selva ends up making a mess because of the poor script and screenplay.

Characters keep moving in and out of the screen, testing the audience’s patience, and the largely slapstick humour tortures more than it entertains. The movie starts off with the pitiful stories of the three friends who try their hand at everything to make it big. Things take a turn for the good when Raghu (Yuvaraaj) gets Rs 18 crore belonging to Saamy Malai. The friends take off to Rajasthan, with Singamuthu close on their heels. Here, the trio meets Yamuna (Deepthi Nambiar), who has run away from home. The change in the ambience from the narrow streets of Tirunelveli to the golden sands of Rajasthan does offer a little relief, though logic is thrown into the air.

A few laughs that the movie produces are thanks to the comic timing of Prakash Raj and Soori. While Soori plays a butcher-turned-politician, Prakash Raj is a gun-totting thug who likes old Hindi songs. They light up things in this otherwise dark cloud of a movie.

Bharani as an aspiring actor goes over-the-top in most scenes, while Yuvaraaj does little as a wannabe entrepreneur. Jayaprakash does a decent job as a cut-throat politician. Deepthi Nambiar does a good job as a chirpy Yamuna, who gets lost in Rajasthan after setting out in search of Asin (the actor), referred to as her sister. But the largely shallow characters, sloppy editing and unimaginative writing make ‘Thulli Vilaiyadu’ far from enjoyable.