Jun 02, 2010 10:37 AM
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This review was already published by me at https://tinyurl.com/2v5jdku. It is my own humble tribute to two of Indian cinema's greats, living legend Maestro Illayaraja and master director Mani Ratnam aka Mani Sir. Thalapathy aka the Commander was the last movie they worked together. Earlier on their combination created magic on screen with Mounaraagam, Anjali, Nayagan, Agni Natchatram and Gitanjali.
The Mahabharat has always been one of my favorite books. It is like an ocean for me, the more you know of it , the lesser you still know about it. And one of the most fascinating characters in the Mahabharata for me has been Karna. I guess maybe due to the fact, that Karna is a character who inhabits the grey area betweeen good and evil. He is brave, generous and a person who would give his life for his friend. Yet he collaborates in the Kaurava’s unfair strategy to kill Abhimanyu in the Chakravyuha. But the story of Karna, is that of a man who was let down by destiny. Abandoned by his real mother Kunti, as a child, he grew up under the care of a charioteer. At every stage he was let down by destiny, including his final moments, when he was killed totally defenceless. He refused to part company with Duryodhan even though he knew he was not on the right side, because of his friendship and gratitude.
Maniratnam adapted this legendary tale of the Karna-Duryodhan friendship, in a more modern setting, in his 1991 movie Thalapathy starring Rajnikanth and Mamooty. Karna here is Surya(Rajnikanth), who was abandoned by his real mother, when he was born out of wedlock, in a remote village. He is adopted by an old lady living in a slum in Chennai, and grows up there. He once beats up a local goon Ramana badly for molesting a girl there, who later dies in hospital, and the problem is that he happens to be the right hand man for Deva( Mamooty), the local slum lord. Deva is furious and when Surya defies him, he has him arrested. However later Deva discovers Ramana’s crime, and releasing Surya from prison makes him his Thalapathi, or the chief.
Surya turns out to be Deva’s right hand man, as also his closest friend. In the mean while, Surya’s real mother Kalyani( Sri Vidya) is now married to a Government officer, and her son Arjun( Arvind Swamy), is in the Civil Services. Kalyani herself is a doctor and soon Arjun is posted to Chennai as collector. Surya is in love with a Brahmin girl, Shubalakshmi( Shobana), who also loves him in return, but does not like his violent ways.Her father, an orthodox priest( Charu Hassan), however rejects Deva’s marriage proposal, saying he would rather see his daughter unmarried, than being married to a goon like Surya. Shubalaxmi is later married off to Arjun, while Surya marries Padma( Bhanupriya), Ramana’s widow. In the meantime, a gang war breaks out between Deva and Kalivardhan( Amrish Puri), ** another gangster, and Deva’s sworn rival. The attacks come to the notice of Arjun, who vows to take action against Deva.
Though set against the backdrop of slums and gangsters, Thalapathy, deep within is a tale of human relationships and bonding. It is the story of people torn apart by destiny, forced to take decisions which they would not want to. It is the story of friendship between Deva and Surya, the test their friendship faces when Surya has to choose between his family and friendship. It is the story of a son longing for his mother's love, a mother living with the guilt of having abandoned her son. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Deva badly beaten up by the police, after being arrested, demands Surya to take revenge against the collector who had arrested him. Surya hesitates, since he had promised his mother not to harm his step brother. Deva accuses him of not being a loyal friend, and then Surya is forced to reveal the truth. Deva is stunned, and then tells every one around, "This is what you call a true friend". Just awesome, and the acting of Mamooty, Rajnikanth there elevates&nbs
