Thadam movie review: Engrossing thriller worth a watch

Cast: Arun Vijay, Vidya Pradeep, Tanya Hope, Smriti, Fefsi Vijayan

Direction: Magizh Thirumeni

Thadam, directed by Magizh Thirumeni, is a movie involving identical twins and a murder for which either or both are the prime suspects. Although themes involving twins have been used plenty of times before in Kollywood, Thadam manages to keep things fresh by backing up the script with real life incidents.

Ezhil (Arun Vijay) is a civil engineer who is well off and successful in his line of work. He is a bit awkward socially and must put a lot of effort to talk to the girl he likes. Meanwhile, his identical twin brother Kavin (Arun Vijay) is a conman who doesn’t have any troubles with woman at all. He swindles money from smugglers but is smart enough to not get caught by the law. The juxtaposition of the brothers’ characteristics is intentional, and they do not see each other until a murder happens.

Ezhil is nabbed by the cops based on a selfie image. Kavin is arrested for different reasons, and when he is brought to the same police station, chaos ensues. Both brothers deny any wrongdoing, but inspector Gopalakrishnan (Fefsi Vijayan) is determined to put Ezhil behind bars for good. Could he succeed in finding out who the real murderer is? The rest of the movie attempts to give an answer, and the director has done it in a way that would keep you guessing right till the end.

Thadam’s biggest plus is its mystery element. Due to the lack of information on the brothers and why they are so similar, you are left to fill in the blanks for the most part. The director breaks the flow by attempting to fill the empty spaces himself, introducing the mom played by Sonia Aggarwal. The flashback portions are contrived and unconvincing, probably made the movie 15 minutes longer than needed. Nonetheless, when the present moment resumes in the climax scene, you forget about all that.

Arun Vijay playing the twins is authentic and a big asset. Subtle differences in speech and mannerisms between the bros are brought to life very eloquently by the star. He shines every bit in action sequences. Kudos to stunt masters Anbariv for that awesome police station fight. Vidya Pradeep who plays the female cop is stellar in her limited screen presence. Tanya Hope and Smriti are just about adequate. Others such as Yogi Babu and Fefsi Vijayan fit in well. Meera Krishan’s con artist role resembles that of Revathi’s in Gulebhagavali. Arun Raj’s BGM warrants mention. Barring couple of dull moments, Thadam is a well-written engrossing thriller worth a watch.