Director Raja is back after a gap of four years with ‘Thani Oruvan’. This time he has joined again with his brother Jayam Ravi with whom he has given four super hits out of five films. Adding to the attraction is the the ever beautiful Nayanthara and of course the ageless Aravind Swamy as a suave villain. The trailers proved that the film has many things to offer apart from these glowing factors. What about the main film which has released today amid huge expectations? Read here.

‘Thani Oruvan’ rewrites the old adage 'Show me your friends and I will tell your character' to 'Find your enemy to know your capacity'.  The entire screenplay is threaded on this line which as Mohan Raja claimed in his interviews is truly an entirely new concept.

Mithran (Jayam Ravi) and his group of friends are IPS officers in probation who embark upon a secret night journey to nib the crimes happening in the city. While others in the group get frustrated after knowing that the criminals they nabbed by risking their lives get scot free due to the loopholes in the system. However Mithran has his own secret mission. With his research he has already identified that the most of the small crimes are the starting points of a big conspiracy and he decides to destroy the perpetrator of one such conspiracy so that at least a hundred criminals would be killed.

In his search for such a mastermind he discovers Siddharth Ambhimanyu (Aravind Swamy) the Padma Sri award winning scientist as the mastermind of a huge conspiracy in pharmaceutical industry and also the one having a clout in real estate and minerals mafia.

The rest is what may be called as one of the most engaging games between the clever Siddharth and the cleverer Mithran unfolding onscreen.

The true heroes of 'Thani Oruvan' are writers Subha and Raja who have worked for nine months on the script and it shows in every scene of the film which are brilliantly conceived and kudos to them for writing the cutest love proposal scene between Nayanthara and Jayam Ravi which is romantic, thrilling and touching all at the same time.

The film hardly has a dull moment and it easily gets into the proud list of most gripping commercial flicks ever made in Tamil cinema. Barring a few speed breaks in the initial portions the film gains momentum at one point and it remains intact and even reaches up to huge levels many times till the last shot.

The film runs close to two hours and 45 minutes and it has just two songs but one never feels like getting a break especially in the second half which is tad longer than the first. This is proof enough of how good is the narration and execution.

If dialogues that came with the trailer itself  were noteworthy, there are many in the film that would humble the ones we appreciated in the trailer.

For Jayam Ravi this is the best after ‘Peraanmani’ and this will be one of the most memorable films in the actor’s career.  The role is a very intense one and he displays an array of emotions to perfection be it when he plans his every move with precision, when he rejects Nayanthara’s advances towards him or when he loses every round to Arvind Swamy.. His standout sequence is when he loses himself to frustration and cowers down and then bounces back when Nayanthara points him his mistake.

Nayanthara’s character is not a mere arm candy or the one included for glamour quotient. Her character has a really important role to play and the talented and experienced lass pulls it off successfully.

This film is the actual comeback of Aravind Swamy we used marvel in the 1990s. The precious find of Mani Ratnam proves he is the apt fit for the character.  Most villains need to shout, to stare, to point guns, kill, rape and so on to look menacing but Arvind Swamy sends chills down your spine just with a glance here, a gesture there and even with a minute change of tone The man is here to stay and rule for many more years to come.

Thambi Ramaiah as the father of Arvind Swamy has done his puppet character delightfully and he is the one who provides the much needed comic relief hitting the bull’s eye every time he appears on screen.  Others in the cast like Ganesh Venkatraman, Mugda Godse, Nasser, Harish Uttaman, Vamsi Krishna are apt and special mention is due to Rahul Mahadev who plays the Malayali cop who sacrifices himself for his friend.

Hip Hop Tamizha Aadhi’s rerecording is one of the pillars of the film. The ‘Kadhal Cricket’ song is foot tapping while ‘Kannalane’ has the potential to become the all time favourite of many music lovers.

 Ramji’s camera sets the tones brilliantly for every sequence and the camera movements are very subtle considering the fact that this is an action packed film (many cameramen believe a fast moving camera will thrill the audiences not knowing it only gives them headaches).  Gopikrishna has seamlessly connected the scenes and has ensured that there is never a dull moment in the film.

The film is apt for the title and it is a single man struggle and there arises a few logical questions here and there. But they never dampen the spirit and satisfaction the film gives to the viewer.

With ‘Thani Oruvan’ Raja has not only changed his name to Mohan Raja but has made a completely new and refreshing thriller which is on par with any international films of its genre.  Probably he was dishing out remakes till now as preparation for delivering one of the best films in the past decade.

Verdict - A must watch for any true movie lover.