Thunivu: For once, the Queen saves the King, and it’s glorious

When the trailer of Thunivu had released, I felt that Ajith’s character was unhinged. It was as if all the shackles that he had felt in previous roles, the controlled mannerisms that he had practiced and perfected had gone out of the window. This character was the embodiment of the villainous, cheeky and charming bits that we have seen in bits and pieces in his previous films such as Vaali, Villain, Mangaatha and more. This guy dressed in whites, flaunting his greys and his imperfect body in a heist film has no f** to give to the world. He is a genius smuggler and a mercenary, who has no recorded failures in the operations that he has so far taken up. So when he decides to rob a bank, you would expect him to be a mastermind. His character doesn’t just meet our expectations, but it blows it out of the water in the first 20 minutes. Major credit to the film’s success must go to the clean writing. It looks like H Vinoth has taken the KISS principle very seriously. Unlike the actor and director’s previous collaboration _Valimai_, this action-thriller keeps us on the edge with its well-paced and smart writing. While the former film was ridden with melodrama, Thunivu keeps it clean. It is about a bad guy without a cause. He is not moved by emotional turmoil of people, he doesn’t care about the body count that he leaves behind, and he definitely has no qualms about gunning down cops if it serves his purpose. He is the Devil that can face the villains on equal footing, and not for the greater good, mind you. It is for his selfish reasons. H Vinoth also doesn’t attempt to embellish the backstory of the main characters too much. The film worked in a great part for me because it did not attempt to force a cause for this man. There were no sermons, or touching backstories to support the mercenary who is out to rob a bank. You are invested in his story because for once, the bad guys get what they deserve. It may not be through ethical means and it might not sit at the right spot on your moral compass, but it is what it is. This conviction along with Ajith’s brilliant onscreen presence carries the film.

Now coming to my favourite part of the film — Manju Warrier’s casting. I know, her character Kanmani had very little to do in the film or so it seems on the surface. Many may even reduce her to a sidekick, but she didn’t feel like a sidekick to me. I could be reading the nuance here, but from the very beginning, she felt more important than the Devil himself. Kanmani is the Devil’s partner, and she plays a key role in the heist’s probability of success. The relationship between Devil and Kanmani is subtle, and the importance he gives to this relationship is clear from the way he speaks of his teammates. This man doesn’t want to you to root for him. He doesn’t wait for the standing ovation at the end, for all the ‘good’ that he did. All he wants to do is get away with his partner after exacting revenge. In more than one instance, it is Kanmani who saves the Devil, and she does it with a brilliance that only Manju Warrier’s understated acting could achieve. She holds the trigger, and she pulls it to save the King. For once, it is not a situation of a damsel in distress. The weight of a character doesn’t solely come from screen time and dialogues. It comes through in the smaller moments, and every sneaky smile that lights up Kanmani’s face as things go according to their plan tells you how invested she is in this mission. _Thunivu_ doesn’t have the perfect balance that Theeran did between drama and action, it jumps headlong into the world of a heist film with no holds barred. What is novel about the film is the treatment of its characters, and not the setting of a scene. It reminded me of this quote I had heard in Korean series — Un diavolo scaccia l’altro — which roughly translates to ‘A devil punishes another devil’. This suits the theme of Thunivu like a glove because here Ajith as Dark Devil personifies a villain in all shades of grey. Even the charming moments in the film — be it of him moonwalking, or him smiling like a brat as he says he does indeed not have shame centers on his darker side, The humor is dark as well, as the commentary on the society’s greed at large doesn’t just address the corrupt financial world, but also the common folks. If I did have problems with the film, it is with certain loose ends that have been niggling me. For one, what happened to the RDX? I would have totally loved to see how it was dealt with. In the grand scheme of things, these things may not seem important, but they do exist. Despite the stunning stunt choreography and well-placed songs, if I did miss one thing, that would be a memorable BGM. I loved the songs, but that one electric music which would uplift a mass moment? It did not pack a punch. “No Guts, No Glory” says Devil in the film, and I must say that there is definitely a lot of glory in this film. The guts? You tell me! Priyanka Sundar is a film journalist who covers films and series of different languages with a special focus on identity and gender politics. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.