Thiruchitrambalam movie review: Dhanush-starrer is a soft and sensitive portrayal of overcoming trauma

Spoilers ahead for Thiruchitrambalam

For the longest time, we have seen films that ostracise toxic fathers, only to redeem them in the very end to milk the scenes and illicit a response from the audience. Dhanush-starrer Thiruchitrambalam is welcome change in this! It is a simple, yet beautiful tale of a father and son who have to overcome the loss that they experienced together. The young boy blames his father for his loss, and surprisingly, the father blames himself too. In fact, the survivor’s guilt that the two experience manifests in different ways and it is rewarding to see Thiruchitrambalam and his father Neelakandan portray this honestly.

Despite its heavy central theme, the film is light and beautiful. In fact, it is one of the most beautiful and sensitive portrayal of father-son relationship in recent times. Even as the father and son struggle to come to terms with their difference, the film embellishes their narrative with love, friendship and family. The narrative is soft and slow, intentionally so and it works in favour of the film. Thiruchitrambalam also has a great bond with paternal grandfather who he is named after. This character portrayed by Bharathiraja does two things. He acts as a bridge between the father and the son and also holds their fractured family together.

It is interesting that a man of Bharathiraja’s stature would play this role because he does become the butt of many jokes. However, I personally enjoyed this track as it humanises a greater than life figure in cinema. This is definitely not a step down, just a step in the right director for the actor Bharathiraja. When all of these elements come together, the film becomes wholesome entertainment. The most wholesome element is junior Thiruchitrambalam’s friendship with Shobana (Nithya Menen) who lives in the same colony as him. She seems to know him the best, understands his struggle and also helps him out when he takes a liking to someone romantically.

She is the best friend that few have and everyone desires. So when Thiruchitrambalam’s romantic life begins to go on a downward spiral, the trope dictates that he begin to notice his best friend from a romantic perspective. This film too takes the safe route by doing so, and in fact, there are other tropes that it uses to propel its narrative forward. It is the treatment of these tropes, however, that make the film entertaining. For instance, the way Shobana and Thiruchitrambalam’s relationship progresses is natural. There is a pause, there is reconsideration, separation and reconciliation. The arc of a relationship that doesn’t seem to forced.

However, there is one problem I have with the film and it is how it treats one of its female characters — Ranjani (Priya Bhavani Shankar). This character is actually the only spot where I felt a false note. There is so much more that could have been done to ensure that her character could be understood by audience. For instance, is she dull-witted? Or is she someone who is dense? Her characteristics have no space to breathe on screen. In direct opposition is Anusha, portrayed by Raashi Khanna. This is a young woman who is certain about her interests, and her life. She has crappy friends and does nothing to stand up to them. So at one point, we can judge her for who she is.

If one could only ignore that, this film is the most pleasing melodrama in a while. This also marks Dhanush and Anirudh’s comeback collaboration, but to be honest, the highlight musical moments in the film belonged to Ilaiyaraaja. Thiruchitrambalam is a fan of the maestro and every important moment in his life — sad or happy — is accentuated by the maestro’s music. Anirudh has captured the attention of audiences with Thaikelavi and Megham Karukkadha, but the background score does seem stale. In fact, many instances take us back to Thangamagan.

Beyond the brilliant performances by Dhanush and Prakash Raj, the show stealer really is the cinematography of the film. Om Prakash has done a brilliant job, especially the scenes set at night. Be it the popular song Megham Karukkadha, or the back side shots of Dhanush in his room lit by nothing but a light above — all of it breathes the mood of the scene. There is life even in the grayest of frames and that really is magical. It denotes how despite all the darkness that surrounds Thiruchitrambalam, there is light at the end of the tunnel.