Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/article/thaanaa-serndha-koottam-movie-review
Thaanaa Serndha Koottam is a remake of Neeraj Pandey’s Special 26, which was about a group of con artists who conduct raids pretending to be CBI officials and saunter away with the loot. If you’ve seen the original, the question — given the general air of moral uprightness that surrounds the Tamil-film hero — is whether they’ll retain the gleeful sense of amorality around the crimes. Short answer: they don’t. In an early scene, we see the character played by Suriya being interviewed for a CBI job in the Economic Offences department. (Wait for the Sasikala joke in the second half!) When asked about his interest in this particular division, he replies with an earnest punchline: “Podhaikka vaendiyadhu ponatha… panatha illa!”
And this tone nudges the film from a cheeky heist thriller into a Shankar movie, albeit a light-hearted one. In the latter, this kind of line builds up the character, whose intensity taps into our own grievances about the System — we urge the damaged hero to become a vigilante on our behalf. Thaanaa Serndha Koottam doesn’t want to dig that deep. There’s a ton of humour, beginning with Anandraj’s “mind voice,” and the director Vignesh Shivn actually winks at the Shankar flashback within the construct of a Shankar flashback. (We expect tragedy. We get comedy. Then, we get the tragedy) So the heavy-handed messages — especially towards the end — and the naalu paerukku philosophy (from Nayakan, invoked here) don’t fit. I was thankful that at least the Enge endru povadhu number wasn’t used in its entirety. Thoughts this existential have no business being in a film that just wants to entertain.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2018 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
brangan
January 12, 2018
We are beginning a new video review segment — a very short one. Called Quick Gun Rangan 😀
Will load the text review as soon as it goes up on the site.
LikeLiked by 5 people
TheManWithTwonames
January 12, 2018
The title of the segment is good, but ‘Bullet Rangan’ would have been better, consistent with your tradition of naming stuff after yourself. 😉😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
MANK
January 12, 2018
First things first,when I saw this quick gun video thing, my blood boiled, I mean, it’s anti everything we expect from your review. But it wasn’t bad as I expected and speaking in Tamil made it different -just the mentioning of the number of stars being the sore point. I hate that.
So that works as a nice appetizer, will wait for the full course 😀
LikeLike
Pavan
January 12, 2018
“Podhaikka vaendiyadhu ponatha… panatha illa!”
Can anyone translate that for me? BTW, Special 26 remake rights were held by a different producer for all the four viz. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, weren’t they? I say this as plans were made to remake Special 26 in Telugu with Ravi Teja once.
LikeLike
brangan
January 12, 2018
MANK: Believe me when I say that a lot of the things I am being asked to do in this digital avatar are not things I’d normally/naturally do 🙂
But my mindset is this:
So I’ve not given up writing. I still write detailed reviews (see Eeda etc). I just wrote a 2500-word profile of Thamarai. So that’s still there — and that readership is still being catered to.
This is about a very different kind of audience — one that I hadn’t tapped into earlier, and one that FC believes I should reach out to. So I’m not losing anything, really.
At most, I fall flat on my face and people laugh. And that’s no reason to not try 🙂
Pavan: It means “You should bury bodies, not money.” As in, referring to those who hide their wealth.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Vivek narain
January 12, 2018
It’s so Sudden that BR has forgotten to wear a stetson, but not so oliver Strange. What with the twin rods hanging by the sides and the drawl to freeze the blood.
LikeLike
Anon
January 12, 2018
Hearing you give stars reminded me of a reviewer whose name rhymes with Pasand and whose style engalukku pasand-illai 😛
I am just thinking out loud here. FullyFilmy already has the two minute review . But FC market research suggests that there are audiences who want a shorter review, like within a minute? At this rate after a year you can just make a motion poster with the number of stars.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Anu Warrier
January 12, 2018
Wishing you the best, BR, but wondering why every single channel feels the need to dumb down. There are plenty of two-minute-noodle reviews and ‘stars’. Why not be proud of catering to a niche segment who has an attention span that is marginally better than a hyperactive sparrow? Your USP is your in-depth analysis and the seems-to-be-forgotten use of eloquent language. Why hire you and then dumb you down? 😦
The rant, by the way, is directed at the channel, not at you. I get your compulsions given the nature of the job.
LikeLiked by 4 people
brangan
January 12, 2018
And I’m saying that I am NOT being dumbed down. The very same channel you speak of also features my long reviews and articles, my AskBR videos, my 3-part Mani Ratnam interview and 2-part Mysskin interview, my reports from Cannes…
I really don’t get it. What am I not doing now that I used to do earlier? (Except probably cater to just one type of audience.) If anything, I am only doing something EXTRA, which readers here can feel free to ignore. 😀
LikeLiked by 5 people
abishekspeare
January 12, 2018
the tam brahm accent made my day!
LikeLike
San Kumar
January 12, 2018
I am not saying the following will happened to you but…
Your time is limited and all these extras can eat into that time hence there is chance that your written reviews suffer for it and that is the main attraction to the blog readers such as myself.
Also I see three type of visitors to this blog sites,
People who will only read written articles.
People who are prefer Quick Gun Rangan type stuff but read your written work due to current lack of Quick Gun Rangan.
People will only see Quick Gun Rangan.
In few years time, Quick Gun Rangan becomes a hit with the “mass” readers. Then the chances are group 2 above will now becomes part of group 3. Then your employers will see big increase in number for Quick Gun Rangan and they ask you to make more of it etc. Which in turns eat into your time and hence your written work suffer.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Anu Warrier
January 12, 2018
BR, I’m saying that your written reviews will eventually suffer. As long as a day has only 24 hours, there’s only so much bandwidth you have to spread yourself. Something has to give. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your Hindi film reviews aren’t as frequent – as one example.
Do take a look at your home page, and you’ll see that there are more links to videos – either by you or by someone else – than there are indepth written reviews of the sort you used to write. This is my perception – I’m not saying I may not be wrong. Also, it’s just an observation, not a criticism. (The criticism, if any, is of the channels who believe that two-minute attention spans are what need to be catered to. In one sense, I can’t blame them either – commercial considerations and ratings will always drive the market. I can, however, mourn that.)
(Also, what San Kumar said. That is also inevitable.)
LikeLiked by 3 people
lastmohican
January 12, 2018
I’ll keep coming back for your long reviews, but a +1 for your Quick Gun format, if it means more readers.
@SanKumar, hopefully there’s a reverse effect where people come for the “Quick Gun”, but stay for the written reviews.
LikeLike
Vivek narain
January 12, 2018
But Tom Sawyer has severel aces up his sleeve, and why not? With such a distinguished and willing blog community anything is possible, should be possible. Dhoni didn’t win all the cups alone, but he was the captain cool. Let the captain have his fun with or without stetson or the tommy (typewriter in the background).
LikeLike
Girish
January 12, 2018
Its now like people opting for 20-20 after their craze for ODI. But its the Test match which is still the star.
LikeLike
Aadhy
January 12, 2018
This new format looks fun, BR, teasing people with a short clip of what to expect in the longer, written review. And if the film warrants an extensive participative discussion, you could do an #AskBR . Personally, I don’t feel that In your written pieces have taken a dip. In fact, you seem to have started covering Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada more frequently now with FC than before. In fact, the number of Malayalam movies I’ve watched have increased proportionally with the number of Malayalam movies you’ve reviewed after your move to FC.
Also, it gives me a personal high when a person whose cult following I’ve been a part of, goes mainstream and gets recognized. I’m not saying you need that recognition. But it’s exciting to watch you being active on social media, giving interviews to other youtube channels, interacting with filmmakers, who seem to hold you in such high esteem (sorry if I’m sounding stalker-sh lol, but that’s what twitter is about). I bet people will eventually warm up to these new experiments you’re trying out. I’ve always wanted to know your thoughts on a movie soon, especially if it’s a movie I’ve have really been looking forward to. This quick gun review would satisfy such people who, after knowing your verdict, will definitely come back and read your longer review, which you can post in your own time & not worrying about being among the first reviewers to put the review out.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Ashwin
January 13, 2018
The one minute review – bad idea!
LikeLike
நவீன்
January 13, 2018
#AskBR was a remake essential for this flix and why an 80s setting, yes I haven’t watched the original or it’s new remake. Wondering which Hindi movie or any Indian movie you wish to see in Tamil, with mass elements and fake nativity. Do you enjoy remakes, or is it better to surprise you midway thru a movie.
LikeLike
Sanjay Shankar (@sanjayshankar)
January 13, 2018
I, for one, really enjoyed the quick video review. The fact that it was in Tamil (or Thanglish) was a bonus. I still came here and read the entire review. Please keep the ‘Quick Gun Rangan’ videos coming. Cheers.
LikeLike
Badri
January 13, 2018
BR, I was very surprised to see that you have given only 3 stars for this movie. Listing down the Wow moments that show why this film needs more stars (Spoilers ahead)
Within 5 minutes into the movie, the hero slaps a police inspector right inside a police station and consequently…gets to sing and dance for the song ‘Sodakku Mela’.
5 minutes before this song and 10 minutes after the song, you have scenes which express the frustrations of the hero against the corrupt system. A logical move would have been to place the song after these 15 minutes, so that these frustrations build up and resonate with the viewer who is then able to emphatize with the ‘Veluka Venum’ feelings expressed in the song. Instead, this song honours the golden rule that ‘In a mass hero movie, opening song should come before the 10th minute’. Hence, this song fizzles out and ends up like premature ***ion.
1st Raid: When Anandraj points out the jewellery location for the 1st time, it is funny, but when he does it for the 4th time it is quite exasperating. Similarly there is the interrogation scene of Sathyan in the 2nd half.
Except the hero, no other member of his team has a strong reason/cause to do something as risky as posing as CBI officers. Weakest example is Sathyan (he just falls in Surya’s feet and says I want some money). Only Ramya Krishnan had a reason to become so desperate but considering the danger, she would have started off by doing some petty crime and not straightaway into this. Also, how did these 4 people meet/ why the hero chose these 4 people?
KEERTHY SURESH (Caps only for her blunders): She is introduced in the raid scene. No one is sure on what assistance she was doing to Ramya Krishnan in that scene. It seems she was present only because it was time for the 2nd song and she had to be introduced before that.
I didn’t mind the hero falling in love at this 1st sight but when you do such a major crime for the 1st time in your life (and manage to escape only by a hair’s breadth) and you still end up falling in love simultaneously..now this is seriously Wow!!..Now the hero who has just fallen in love, forgets to take her along after finishing the raid!..his team of 4 (not 40) also forget her..heck even she forgets that she is supposed to leave; until the actual police come and question her..then she says ‘Man, I could have left right…how can I be so dumb’…I also felt the same..Now, the police officer suspects and asks her if she has any connection with the raid gang but when she replies that she is a press reporter, he doesn’t even ask for an ID..
Meanwhile the hero and the team who had dashed off from the raid scene in their car realize that they have have left her behind, so they get down and and look back at the road route to see if she is coming,.she is nowhere to be seen…but when they come back to the car…there she is!!..they are surprised…she says she used the port key thingy shown in Harry Potter movies.
Later she expresses her love but the hero rejects her…she is so pissed off that she won’t even offer him coffee but she says that he needs to come for her sister’s engagement happening a week later..he asks her why??…She glares at him and says ‘Because I may be pissed off but the director still wants you in my life’
The Hero rejects her initially because of his risky life but in the next scene itself (when nothing has changed) when a marriage alliance with someone else is offered to her (It is not that she is getting married immediately), he runs to her and says that he loves her..curiously he then asks her to temporarily agree for that alliance and also asks her when the marriage date is…After this, there is no scene related to her marriage…So this entire scene was pointless..
Before the climax, the hero tells the heroine that you should just do these during the final heist..but after that there is no scene involving the heroine..I was wondering why they had this scene but then realised that the director’s vision was to show that the heroine’s presence was consistently pointless..right from her 1st scene to the last.
Flashback: The sordid flashback involves the hero’s unemployed friend who is angered to see another man standing INSIDE his apartment (with door open) just talking to his wife..he admonishes her by saying that she shouldn’t have let him come inside the home…In the next scene, he is at his home around 6pm and finds that the wife is not at home..so he immediately assumes that his wife has ran away (she has gone to the nearby temple)..he doesn’t check for her clothes, jewellery or any note..he just assumes that if she is not inside, then she would have ran away (Wow!). Now, the hero who has just come to meet his friend, hears about this. He doesn’t question the friend or even console him…On hearing this, he just walks out from the room and sits in the staircase, pondering perhaps on why he agreed to do this movie…the friend comes outside, speaks to the hero and then..jumps out of the floor and dies.
The others ask the hero to do a raid for the final time, since they need the money. But they had already got lots of money in the previous 2 raids..but the hero gave all of it away for charity…perhaps he didn’t hear that charity begins at home…if only he had heard this and heeded to their needs first, we would have been saved from the awful climax..
Climax: When the cops had planned to catch them during the act, what was the need to take a risk by shifting the jewellery and replacing it with fake..even if the hero had appointed someone to watch the factory, he would got alerted and escaped..Also, the climax fight was too awful..what took Vijayakanth years to achieve in Ramana, Surya gets it done in a few months,…he has got nearly 100 of his men appointed as police and posted in the same city, all of whom openly shoot at senior CBI officers just based on his commands..all this in a few months…Wow, wow, Wow!!!
Seriously, this is not Thaana Serndha Koottam..it is Veena Serndha Koottam.. 😦 😦
LikeLiked by 6 people
Siva
January 13, 2018
I have NOT watched the movie. Yet, BR —- I am one 100 percent with you on the ‘intrusive BGM eating up the dialogues at times’ thing.
I was most annoyed when I felt the same thing while watching the much raved about ‘Vikram Vedha’. I agree Sam C.S’ mass-ey BGMs thru’ the movie were awesome and all that, but then I found them all too intrusive during more than a few talky portions. And add to that a not-all-times clearly audible (a.k.a decipherable) Vijay Sethupathi’s speedy dialogue deliveries, coupled with a lot of local slang spurted out by many characters in that movie. (Also, did they do ‘live recording’ for that movie? I mean, versus the usual post production dubbing)
So, for me, the entire movie watching experience was like (or at the least for a very good part of it), “Grrrr!!!! :-@ —- Hey stupid BGM! Why wouldn’t you stop when they talk!!!! Why do you not want me to understand this tricky screenplay?” (Yeah. It was, to me, a bit 😀 )
Then again I do not remember any reviews of that movie mentioning this annoyance. So I was like, ‘May be it was just me!’. But then I realized I had watched it with arguably the best acoustics a Chennai movie screen could offer (Sathyam Main Sceen, Balcony, As center as the seating gets). Which got me to only one conclusion. That I was an acoustically challenged person who was just not capable of deciphering the totally audible dialogues amidst the wonderful BGMs that Vikram Videha had to offer. And that ends the rant 🙂
LikeLike
brangan
January 13, 2018
Anu Warrier: Frankly, the only major Hindi films I did not cover last year was during the three-week period starting from the release of Qarib Single Single. So I missed Tumhari Sulu etc. Otherwise, I came back and wrote about Monsoon Shootout, Tiger Zinda Hai… Then there was lull in releases, till this week. I intend to see (and write about) Kaalakaadi and Mukkabaaz. So I don’t think you can blame that on FC either 🙂
Maybe, yes. These Hindi reviews won’t be as prompt as they used to be (I used to try and write them over the weekend). But they are more for the blog, anyway — so I don’t think a few days here or there will matter.
All I’m saying is, hate a new format if it doesn’t work for you. Sure. But don’t resist it just because you imagine a future where it’s going to impact my writing. Like someone gave a metaphor above, I think it IS possible to plays tests and ODIs and T-20s.
Also, about: I’m saying that your written reviews will eventually suffer.
That’s really presumptuous, I think. At least say “might suffer” not “will suffer” 🙂
Aadhy: You nailed it, exactly with these thoughts:
teasing people with a short clip of what to expect in the longer, written review.
And if the film warrants an extensive participative discussion, you could do an #AskBR .
This quick gun review would satisfy such people… your longer review, which you can post in your own time & not worrying about being among the first reviewers to put the review out.
This is exactly what the Quick-Gun review is about — if you just want that, then that’s all you have to see. Otherwise, it’s a teaser.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Anantha Krishnan
January 13, 2018
What is with the rating? Reading the review and comparing it with your previous ones, I expected a 3/5… It is just 2/5
LikeLike
Rahul
January 13, 2018
I was disappointed because I was expecting at least the hat if not the shades.
LikeLike
Anu Warrier
January 13, 2018
Also, about: I’m saying that your written reviews will eventually suffer.
That’s really presumptuous, I thlink. At least say “might suffer” not “will suffer” 🙂
🙂 Theek hai… ‘might’ suffer. I don’t want it to, so I’ll go with ‘might’. Honestly, I don’t hate the video format – you are quite comfortable in front of the camera now, and you do make it engaging. But I’ll be honest and say that I’m not a great fan of the format simply because I don’t get to mull over your sentence structure or enjoy your phrasing. It’s more straightforward, less in-depth.
But I think the poor equine gasped its last breath some time ago – flogging it won’t get it to rise.like Lazarus. I do wish you all the best; my reservations about the format are besides the point.
LikeLike
Vivek narain
January 13, 2018
‘might is right’, and that is all there is to it. Weakness is wrong. Which is a very poor way of saying that it is good for oneself to be strong,and evil for oneself to be weak. ~ Wolf Larsen
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/153/the-sea-wolf/2694/chapter-8/
LikeLike
Oliver
January 13, 2018
As long as there is a written review I don’t think it matters even if there is a full video review. Also in #AskBR of old movies, can you please do your analysis (outside of questions) as well ? Questions may not cover every aspect.
LikeLike
Shankar
January 13, 2018
Baddy, I agree this felt more like a full length comedy interspersed with mass scenes. I was almost wondering if this was actually a remake of Special 26! The comedy bits were quite solid though including the petromax running gag! That said, I’m curious you didn’t touch upon the heroine. Keerthy has gotten progressively worse with every outing, in my opinion, and this film was pits. Agreed, her role was nothing much to chew on, but her emoting was terrible. Sometimes I wonder if actors after a few films start “thinking” too much…I feel a lot of actors get into a rut (I’ll include Prithviraj and even Suriya though 24 and a few others restored some faith)….and lose their natural performance and presence on screen.
Also given the setting of the era (didn’t think the story needed it) and all those references to that time, I was pleasantly surprised the director didn’t squeeze in a Raja number into the mix…. I only say this since it’s become so cliche! 😄
LikeLike
Vidya Ramesh
January 13, 2018
I second aadhy here. I saw more Malayalam movies after BR started reviewing them. I also think that his writing is not getting affected in anyway it’s actually getting better.
I liked the short review in Tamil didn’t mind it at all but I have to say that I cringed at the quick gun Murugan reference. Really?.. it is an old 90’s stereotype Mr BR you can do better than that!
LikeLiked by 3 people
brangan
January 13, 2018
Vidya Ramesh: I heart thee. Thank you 🙂
Shankar: I, too, thought about Raja– but in a slightly different way. He has composed a song beginning with each of these words… 🙂
Thaana vandha sandhaname…
Serndhu vaazhum neram…
Kootathile koilpura…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Vidya Ramesh
January 13, 2018
BR doing short reviews s is like when Unni Krishnan started singing movie songs..people who liked him almost uniformly hated him for it but eventually it was good for him and music lovers in general and his Carnatic music audience increased. It did not make him a bad singer! I think if you are true to what you are trying to do it will work.
I’m going to watch this thana serntha kootam tomorrow with more expectation now than before.
LikeLike
Pavan
January 14, 2018
I saw the Telugu dubbed version. It helped that Suriya dubbed for his portions in Telugu for the second time (he did it for Maattrraan’s Telugu dubbed version, for Akhilan). The only actual issue I have is why to make him a thug of golden heart? Special 26 was indeed special: It gave a humane lead who was graceful enough to admit that he can’t be anything but a robber. I think this “reason to turn bad” has been a statutory requirement for the antihero in South Indian cinema, with some rare exceptions. Two depressing examples were Sivaji Ganesan in Andha Naal and Mahesh Babu in Businessman. The latter was so evil for 3/4ths of the film, it was difficult to digest that he really had a heart and a reason to turn bad. Glad that he at least accepts in the end before his lover that their romance was a failed business transaction.
LikeLike
Vidya Ramesh
January 14, 2018
The movie was an enjoyable watch. The need to make the hero so ” heroic” is very irritating though. The Akshay Kumar original was better that way. Did anyone notice that the playback voice of the uttaman character is the same as that of Pandiya from kaakha kaakha..it kept making me think about that villian anytime he spoke. I did not realise that Pandiya was so deeply ingrained in my head!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oliver
January 14, 2018
@Vidya Ramesh, I think both are GVM’s voice.
LikeLike
Vignesh K
January 15, 2018
@ Vidya Ramesh – Just in case you did not realize – both the characters were dubbed by our very own Gautam Vasudev Menon.
LikeLike
sam
January 15, 2018
@Vidhya it’s GVM’s voice and it was very distracting. I so wish they used someone else to dub for the villain…
LikeLike
Siva
January 15, 2018
@Vidya Like I had mentioned earlier in this thread, I have not seen the movie yet. No intentions to, either. So apparently I am not aware who dubbed the Uthaman character you are referring to.
But …. the Pandiya character in Kaakha Kaakha is a whole different story altogether. It was whole heatedly voiced by that movie’s director himself. You can bet though, whenever any of Gautam Menon’s movies has a villainous character that spurts out derogatory Tamil (or English) cuss words, then he almost always makes sure he lends his own voice for that character. Now, try and remember that voice of one of the 2 villains from Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (the other villain was Daniel Balaji, who obviously dubbed for himself). This second villain, the one I am referring to, — played by actor Salim Baig — was voiced by … you guessed it right, Director Swear Words Aficionado himself!
Right now, off the top of my head, I could pull out only Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. Rest assured though. There are more than two movies wherein Mr.DSWA has displayed his expertise in swearing 😛
Hence, the one in TSK could very well be our DSWA 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thupparivaalan
January 15, 2018
Think the 80’s nostalgia has warmed you up more to the film. I went in with expectations after your review and found it inferior to the original. It isn’t bad, but I missed the air tightness of special 26. There is so much dead air here. The ‘mass’ification is less organic and feels false. Considering the very short romance was just a speed break in the former, it hinders the flow a lot more here. That petromax gag was awesome. Lots of enjoyable references to older films. Loved the chemistry between the gang. Hope vignesh makes an out and out comedy next. He is pretty good at humor.
LikeLiked by 1 person
lowlylaureate
January 15, 2018
Hi BR and all,
Please find the FRS of TSK below.
Nandri.
Vanakkam
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vidya Ramesh
January 15, 2018
Thats why that voice was so damn familiar! I thought it was his voice that was my first feeling..I did not know that Gvm had dubbed for so many characters! It was really disconcerting though. His voice is recognisable and unique..threw me off.
LikeLiked by 1 person
pady
January 20, 2018
This movie was bad. This superhero sh$# has to stop. Tired, tired, tired. Vijay Sethupathi would have carried this movie way way better. Surya thinks he is above the script. As madhavan tells in the interview – the audience is much smarter than this BS.
BR – The title and review dont match.
LikeLike