Dhanush and Samantha in the movieJust when we thought Dhanush can pull off almost all kinds of characters, he goes out and does a Thanga Magan, and true to its name, he becomes that quintessential Tamizh 'payyan' (boy) that the whole of Tamil Nadu's mothers and aunts would take home. Maybe even the girls. Although his previous production Naanum Rowdy Thaan sang a different tune when the girls wanted a 'combo of good boy and bad boy'.
After producing an out-of-the-box fun film like Naanum Rowdy Thaan and a heart-warming Kakka Muttai, Thangamagan, that masqueraded as VIP 2, came as a surprise. Dhanush can very well carry out the 'golden boy' role, but considering the range of emotive stances that this actor can bring to the table, Thanga Magan seems a middling affair.
Thanga Magan is three-phased; the boy, the man on threshold and finally, the man. Tamizh (Dhanush) is a middle-class boy doing his B.Com second year when we first meet him. From a young boy who takes a fancy to Hema (Amy Jackson), he traverses the course of his life that takes some responsible shape when he starts working with his father (K.S. Ravikumar), and marries Yamuna (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) according to his mother's (Radhika Sarathkumar) wishes.
'Thanga Magan' is three-phasedTamizh's father getting embroiled in a knot and the subsequent conflict becomes the second half of the movie. Where in the first half, we're taken through Tamizh's love lives, the second half brings us to his endeavour to restore his father's reputation, thereby succumbing to a handful of cliches that Tamizh cinema swears by.
While Dhanush puts up a good act, where he even makes cliches dependable factors, it's K.S. Ravikumar who surprises with a credible performance. Radhika Sarathkumar, who is a natural actor on screen, is a couple of frames away from showing off her versatility. Samantha is coy, compassionate, soft-spoken and doesn't get a chance to shift from phrases to sentences. Amy Jackson urgently needs to learn how to lip-sync, but her one shot to fame is the cheeky slap, backed by an unconventional repartee.
For Dhanush fans though, the movie could invoke mixed reactionsWhile Thanga Magan runs on predictable track, it will possibly leave the ones who take to familial dramas contented. For Dhanush fans though, it could invoke mixed reactions; while he is amicable and plays his part to perfection (whatever be the age group his character belongs to), the story doesn't quite step up from its initial momentum and drifts into a world of formulaic Tamizh cinema staples.
And for those keeping count, the film adds another one to the evergreen scene of thugs attacking the man who's taking his pregnant wife to the hospital in heavy downpour.
Rating: 2.5/5
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