ThalaiviMovie Review

Name: Thalaivi Movie Review - Partly Gripping Tale Of Jayalalithaa
Item: Thalaivi
Rating: 2.75
Author: Sathvik SV

Tamil

Drama

Streaming Date TBA Movie

On Screen

Thalaivi Movie Cast (4)

Arvind Swamy Lead Actor

Kangana Ranaut Lead Actress

Prakash Raj Actor

Samuthirakani Actor

Behind The Camera

Crew

DIRECTOR

A. L. Vijay

MUSIC DIRECTOR

G. V. Prakash Kumar, Rachita Arora

PRODUCER

Shailesh R. Singh

Thalaivi Movie Review - Partly Gripping Tale Of Jayalalithaa

Starring Kangana Ranaut and Aravind Swamy in the lead roles, Thalaivi, the biopic of Late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa hit the big screens today. Here’s our review of the film.

Sathvik SV

Updated: September 10, 2021 19:25 IST

Rating : 2.75/5

Thalaivi Review - Story

Thalaivi brings to life the illustrious journey of Jayalalithaa, played by Kangana Ranaut. It unravels the tale of a strong-natured young woman who started as an actress and later went on to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, and also one of the most influential women in Indian politics. What role does MGR (Aravind Swamy) have to play in Jayalalithaa’s journey to the top? What are the hardships she faced in the process?

Thalaivi Review - Analysis

Kangana Ranaut plays the titular role in the film and her portrayal of mass leader Jayalalithaa is of top-tier quality. But the real star of the show is Aravind Swamy who plays MG Ramachandran(MGR). His exquisite performance is spotless. Especially so, the way he emotes in penultimate scenes that shape up the protagonist’s political career is pure class.

Thalaivi naturally has a strong emotional connection that caters to Tamil audiences. Those who know the life story of Jayalalithaa can connect to the central characters in Thalaivii. For the rest, it is just another biopic of a fierce politician from Tamil Nadu.

The film is powered by towering performances from the lead cast as Kangana, Aravind Swamy, Samuthirakani, and others deliver stellar performances. AL Vijay’s narration is good in parts. Thaialivii really is a tale of two halves. The opening half unravels the journey of Jayalalithaa in films and the latter half is all about her political journey. Comparatively, the latter half is more engaging.

The ups and downs, the hardships, and the humiliations faced by Jayalalithaa form the emotional core of the film and they make the latter half a compelling watch. That said, most of the subplots in the film are based on the controversial incidents in Jayalalithaa’s life that are known to everyone. The makers should have instead done more research and bring to light the lesser-known incidents in the legendary politician’s life. The climax portion is conceived well and it ends the film on an emotional high.

But the slow-paced opening exchanges and uneven narrative in the opening half get the film off to a rather timid start.

GV Prakash Kumar’s background score is of elite quality. The production designing is clap-worthy. The essence and the theme of the 80s era are recreated with lavish sets.

Thalaivi Review - Verdict

Thalaivi is a partly gripping tale of Jayalalithaa, one of the legendary politicians from South India. The film gets off to a rather subdued start but it picks up the pace towards the latter half and ends on an emotional high. With a better opening ha;f, the film would have made for a better watch.