CAST: Vijay Antony, Ramya Nambeesan, Sonu Sood
DIRECTOR: Babu Yogeshwaran
Babu Yogeswaran’s Tamilarasan is a cinematic offering that, albeit riddled with flaws, does not forget the story at the core of it’s message. The story revolves around heart transplants; fittingly, the characters undergo emotional metamorphoses with a capriciousness akin to a heart’s palpitations. This inadvertent poetic essence partially compensates for the film’s frail narrative.
The story’s hero is Tamilarasan (played by Vijay Antony), a compassionate police officer. Alongside his doting wife, Leena (Ramya Nambeesan), they are thunderstruck when they discover that their son Prabhakar (Pranav Mohan) has a failing heart. The urgency of a heart transplant becomes paramount. The hospital, however, depicted as a profit-driven fortress with apathetic administrators and detached doctors, sidelines young Prabhakar. A minister’s need for a heart transplant takes precedence. This leads to a desperate and incensed Tamilarasan holding Dr. Muruganantham (Suresh Gopi) hostage to ensure his son receives the needed medical attention. In addition, he must counter the antagonism of his corrupt superior, Rana Pratap Singh (Sonu Sood).
As a cinematic creation, Tamilarasan’s narrative fabric seems to require its own lifeline. The screenplay’s erratic structure mirrors a doctor’s illegible scribbles and the shifts in tonality are disconcerting. The juxtaposition of a grave situation with an incongruous comedy track dilutes the emotional heft. The film’s medical aspects, primarily organ transplantation, are handled with a dismaying lack of research and realism, leading to melodramatic sequences.
While the film aspires to comment on the murky waters of medical ethics, its portrayal feels like a retread of themes explored with more finesse in past cinema. Furthermore, the handling of police procedures borders on the ludicrous.
The ensemble cast, comprising veterans such as Suresh Gopi, Sangitha, Kasthuri, and Radha Ravi, delivers performances that are sterile and devoid of the emotions that should have been the heartbeat of this film. Ramya Nambeesan’s character is restricted to romance and maternal concern, while Vijay Antony, despite his earnest efforts, is limited by a performance that lacks dynamism.
Despite its flaws, Tamilarasan has a sincere undercurrent. The film attempts to be socially relevant, incorporating real-world references and espousing progressive dialogues regarding gender. However, a narrative treatment reminiscent of a bygone era and a lethargic pace akin to the drip of an IV line renders the viewing experience less engaging than desired.
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