(by R. Kailasham)
This is a heist movie set in 1993, and it is the way in which the story is narrated, rather than the story itself, which moved me to pen this review. The musical reverberations of the album continue to echo even now. It has an equally profound cinematic influence, as described below.
The two Thirudas (thieves) that appear in the movie title are Kadhir (played by Anand) and Azhagu (Prashanth). Their small-time-thieving lives soon cross paths with the money trail left behind by an internationally motivated con-job executed in India. Kathir and Azhagu rescue Rasathi (Heera) from committing suicide and the trio are continuously on the move for one good reason or several, as becomes apparent from the picture. Chandralekha (Anu Aggarwal), a pop star, joins and drifts away from the gang of three as the movie progresses. Hot on the trail of this entourage are terrorists, cops, and intelligence officers.
The stolen pile of cash remains the focus throughout the film, even as Azhagu develops feelings for Rasathi, and R. grows fond of Kadhir. Maniratnam’s deft touch ensures that nowhere in the movie is a confrontation regarding who chooses whom, and the tension remains unresolved even by the end of the picture. Did Thiruda Thiruda inspire Kaadhal Desam?
There are major stunt sequences shot atop a moving train. Surely, choreographing this must have been more challenging than choreographing dance moves on a mobile locomotive? Did Thiruda Thiruda anticipate Uyire?
There is a song sequence wherein Rasathi, Azhagu, and Kadhir imagine what they would do with the stash of cash that has briefly come into their possession. Starting with the lines Putham Puthu Boomi Vaendum (Need a brand-new world), the song then goes on to list several other things they wish for. Situations like these probably represent a free-hit for the lyricist because they could really channel and verbalize their personal wishes and aspirations for a new world, through the on-screen characters. I would consider that Chinna Chinna Aasai was a prelude to Putham Puthu, which in turn would culminate in Satham Illatha Thanimai Kaettaen. These three songs seem to be cut from the same fabric, and Vairamuthu’s signature is writ large across them all.
There is a scene where the CBI top gun, Lakshminarayanan (S.P.B), is deep in discussion with Madan Bob and Thaivasal Vijay about tracking the stolen money. Madan Bob mechanically pulls out a cigarette and starts puffing and thinking, saying that he needs the nicotine to sharpen his mind. S.P.B chides him and orders that he put the cigarette away, citing cancer. In an era when cigarette-smoking was glorified across silver screens, this one scene from Thiruda Thiruda says a lot.
The dialogues in the movie are handled by the late great engineer Sujatha and Suhasini. An unlikely duo. Readers of Sujatha novels would find it easy enough to discern which portions were written by him.
Rahman’s music score is a veritable member of the movie’s cast. Veerapandi Kottayilae is arguably the best song in the movie, with Konjam Nilavu trailing closely in second place. Annupamaa’s vocals mingle seamlessly with the pictured pyrotechnics and visuals of the song, simultaneously highlighting the skills of the cinematographer (P.C. Sriram) and the choreographer (Sundaram and sons).
Thiruda Thiruda is a fantastical movie with probably zero take-home messages. There is nothing formulaic about this movie, and neither did this help in defining a formula for future films. One memory from the movie, though, lingers indelibly. Chandralekha surely deserves her place amongst the pantheon of great and inimitable female characters in Tamil cinema. Chandralekha. Nilambari. Sornakka. Jessie. Never before. Probably never again.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Eswar
May 2, 2021
Interesting observations, R. Kailasham. Veerapandi Kottaiyile is stunning. The lyric in that song also has a brief reference to the love triangle “Rettai sooriyan varugathumma, otrai thamarai karuguthamma”. In addition to SPB, I remember also enjoying ‘Malaysia’ Vasudevan.
I don’t remember when I last watched this, but I have fond memories of the movie. Thanks for writing this.
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vijay
May 3, 2021
Thiruda thiruda will be remembered by me more for the music, as the first real soundtrack of Rahman which made us sit up and take serious notice of him and his capabilities. But having said that, as far as what passed of for light hearted escapist fare during those times, it was still better than most such films released in 1994.
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ravenus1
May 3, 2021
I have fond memories of this film. Sometime in ’93 (or was it ’94?), me and a film-buff cousin landed up one Sunday at Mumbai’s Metro Cinema (then a large single-screen) for a morning show. We had heard the ARR score on Magnasound’s tape, but had no idea what the film was about, or even what broad genre it fell into. The opening credits played against visuals of currency notes getting made in the mint. Our spirits thrilled as the audience broke into claps and cheers when the names of (cinematographer) PC Sreeram and (director) Maniratnam came on screen. By the time the credits winded up, we had observed the newly printed money being stuffed into a giant vault that was loaded onto a train. And then we got the scene that set the tone for the film that would follow – the rousing, thrilling and wholly memorable TRAIN ROBBERY. Not since Sholay’s train attack by dacoits had one seen such an opening sequence in Indian cinema. Risky action choreography, dynamic camera work, razor sharp editing and a pulse-pounding Rahman background score made our hearts flutter like we were on a roller-coaster. The only question was, would the rest of the film live up to that excitement level?
With some reservations the answer turned out to be YES. TT was Maniratnam’s homage to the Indiana Jones style rip-roaring adventure, and a fulfilment of his desire to do a high-stakes heist caper in rural Tamil Nadu. The film’s heroes (Prashant and Anand) are a pair of Robin Hood-esque petty thieves who in the course of numerous script convolutions get involved in the race for the stolen money. There are criminal masterminds (Salim Ghouse), ace investigators (SP Balasubramanyam), sexy bombshells (Anu Agarwal), virginal village belles (Heera Rajgopal), bumbling country cops (Malaysia Vasudevan) and plenty of other supporting characters in this heady potboiler that keeps its emphasis on the chase.
There are weaknesses: Just 10 min shy of 3 hours the film runs too long for its type, and the pace flags in the second half, with a needless love triangle that weighs down the fun (in Rangan’s book, Maniratnam confesses that it was the plaintive angst conveyed in the ‘Raasathi’ song that prompted him to develop this angle and that in retrospect it was a wrong decision). Salim Ghouse’s psycho-villain generates more unintended laughter than menace (especially the poor Vellakaari – white woman – that plays his nervy mistress).
Sadly TT proved an expensive bomb at the box-office, either due to its flaws or that Indian audiences at the time were not ready for a slick and frothy caper. But it remains among my more favoured Maniratnam films and my personal favourite AR Rahman score. In fact the score deserves special mention, both songs and BG music. Unlike a lot of his later output where minimalism is made a virtue and he tries to pass off an entire song on a single hook/beat, here he throws everything and the kitchen sink into the mix, and each song is distinctly different and memorable.
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madhthots
May 4, 2021
The movie would have been a footnote in movie history, except for one thing – ARR’s mind-blowing music. “Thee Thee” gives goosebumps even today… Music Director Amit Trivedi said it the best about the album
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gnanaozhi
May 4, 2021
@BR just the lines
“Rettai sooriyan varugathumma, otrai thamarai karuguthamma”
And I could hear the song running in my head. I haven’t heard this song in years but the cadence,beats…all clear as though I listened to it yesterday.
That’s the genius of ARR I guess
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Madan
May 4, 2021
” Unlike a lot of his later output where minimalism is made a virtue and he tries to pass off an entire song on a single hook/beat, here he throws everything and the kitchen sink into the mix, and each song is distinctly different and memorable.” – Yup. IMO this is his best album. Not that he didn’t make any great albums at all or anything but this was just so unabashed and spontaneous in a way that wasn’t always was later on. I think there being no need to compose sentimental fare liberated him (as opposed to songs like Pachchaikiligal/Kaatru Kuthirayile/Thendrale slightly dragging down the respective albums). It’s kinda like his Agni Natchatram in terms of the electrifying innovation and the seemingly kaleidoscopic scope. Albeit the song Veerapandi Kotaiyile evokes most is Rakkamma rather than anything from Agni.
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Jayram
May 4, 2021
TT remains one of my favorite ARR albums along with Dil Se. The Telugu version “Donga Donga” or DD was a rage back then and we used to listen to those songs repeatedly on our long automobile journeys (especially on one car ride from Denver, Colorado to Yellowstone National Park during the Summer of 1995) or in India whenever we visited. My maternal grandmother who as a child sang vintage Telugu songs on AIR and won prizes back then, loves the DD album She used to tell me it was a breathe of fresh air and she along with my grandfather, my uncles and I used to sing “Veerabobbili Kottalo” (where his Western Classical Operatic experimentation worked so brilliantly), “Kanulu Kanulanu Dochayante” (the mixture of pop and rock gelled well) and “Kotha Bangaru Lokam” (whenever I listen to it, it takes me on a magic carpet ride like “A Whole New World” from Aladdin; the bass is one of the key drivers of the melodious song). The openings of “Chandralekha” and “Thee Thee” gave me goosebumps back then and still do today!
On another note, glad Udit Narayan did not debut in Tamil with this album, though he did sing in the Hindi dubbed version!
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Enigma
May 5, 2021
Thiruda Thiruda was ahead of its times. Tamil audience in those days did not have the understanding to appreciate a comedy caper/heist movie. The common refrain back then was that the movie did not have a ‘story'(meaning no drama or worse, melodrama which was the basic requirement for a movie to be considered ‘good’). The audience are more sophisticated now (after increased exposure to international films) and movies such as this, if released now, may be better appreciated. I was in uni (college) and was a bit disappointed back then but liked it when I saw it again. And the soundtrack – God, no words to describe it. Chandralekha sounds futuristic even now and Thee Thee – I get goosebumps every time I listen to it.
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R. Kailasham
May 8, 2021
Firstly, a big thank you to Baradwaj Rangan for publishing my post on this website. It has also given me the opportunity to read about what the movie and its soundtrack mean to many others, most of whom seem to have had the good fortune of watching/hearing, in real time,
Rahman build up to be the “Isai Puyal” he is. I was less than three weeks old when “Roja” released, and I therefore experienced the absolute best of ARR’s work (which I consider to be the pre-Alaipayuthey songs) only in retrospect. Have heard the songs from that era umpteen times, and I could do that for years more!
I revisited TT a few days after submitting my PhD thesis, and it was a nice way to unwind. I think I must have watched the movie as a kid (“ariyaatha vayasu”) but I am sure I didn’t catch much of its essence back then.
It was also nice to read the comments from readers. It was great to watch Amit Trivedi’s interview clip posted above. Also remembered how Vadivel hums the TT theme when escaping from the Black Cats in Kaadhalan. Funnily enough, Ajay Ratnam, who plays a baddie in TT, is one of the Black Cats chasing Prabhu Deva and Vadivel in
Kaadhalan.
I agree that “Veerapandi Kottaiyilae” is a fabulous piece of work, and it does resemble “Raakamma Kaiya thattu” in terms of orchestration. TT marks the beginning of ARR veering away from set conventions and blazing a trail of his own. His maturation into maverick genius was relatively quick, I would say, and by Kaadhalan (1994), he had truly and completely overthrown the status quo. I can’t think of a stronger statement of arrival than “Oorvasi” and
“Mukkala”.
There were certain advantages too, of being born in 1992, and I got to witness the musical treat served by Yuvan Shankar Raja and Harris Jeyaraj growing up.
Probably material for another writeup, I suppose!
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Madan
May 8, 2021
R Kailasham: I notice you didn’t mention Gentleman at all. I guess this is what happens to some movies/soundtracks – that we all knew everything about at the time but which somehow gets forgotten.
I have mentioned in another write up that as a kid growing up in Bombay, Roja didn’t do very much for me. It was too ‘serious-sounding’, too adult for a kid. But I used to go for summer hols every year to Chennai and that’s how I caught up with Thiruda Thiruda. We watched it on pirated VCR 😛 which was the fastest way to catch movies in the pre-digital world. Movie was little bouncer but songs made an impression right away. It came out end of 92 and 93 summer I had already watched it. We similarly watched Gentleman but back in Bombay, again on VCR.
Gentleman has that flab which I mentioned above via En Veetu Thotathil. I guess you could say I am not a big fan of Kedaram. It worked out in Sundari Neeyum because it’s a parody. As an earnest love song, it lacks romanticism imo; that overly Carnatic tone gets in the way at least for me.
BUT Chikku Bukku – my God! What a rage that was! Today, it is just one more Prabhudeva-Rahman song like the ones on Kadhalan, Romeo, Minsara Kanavu. But back then, it was the very first time the combo of Rahman, Shankar and Prabhu Deva came together like dynamite. We hadn’t heard a song like that, never seen hilarious graphics like what Shankar used there and of course the choreography.
Looking back, I can see the weaknesses of the album because Usilam Patti is not in much rotation anymore and Ottagathi is another of those early Rahman numbers that slightly evokes Raja (maybe the last such!) and the SPB-SJ singing duo cements those parallels.
But at the time, Gentleman was when Rahman spoke to us kids for the first time. Kids, teens, young adults, everyone loved the soundtrack. It was the first time in a long time that film music had so captured the imagination of the young. Any hopes Raja diehards may have held out of Rahman being a passing cloud disappeared with the success of Gentleman because it turned out Rahman had unleashed a monster instead.
In terms of ‘arrival’, I would say he truly arrived with Bombay which brought together so many shades of his music in one ensemble – the minimalist yet intense Tu Hi Re, the classically colourful Kehna Hi Kya and Humma Humma (which had a much bigger impact in Hindi thanks to Remo’s incredible rendition). Once he delivered a blockbuster album with Duet too – a very family oriented Balachander drama – the few lingering detractors had to go home.
I loved it when Rahman still felt he had something to prove. That fire in the belly which he has never publicly acknowledged did somewhere spur him to blaze a trail of musical glory. It probably came to an end with Sangamam – such an outstanding folk-classical collection that was respectful of tradition and yet uniquely Rahman. After that, he simply didn’t have anything left to prove.
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Anand Raghavan
May 11, 2021
Madan
I think even after Sangamam, he came out with amazing albums with variety, sounding etc., Alaipayuthey, Rhythm, Lagaan had such wide range of musical elements. May be after that he stuck to minimalism with occasional brush with brilliance.
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Madan
May 11, 2021
Anand Raghavan: I slightly misphrased it. I meant that the need to ‘prove something’ came to an end with Sangamam. I am myself a huge fan of the Alaiputhey album and also of Rhythm/Kandukondein Kandukondein etc.
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