'Thalaivan Thalaivii' Movie Review: Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menen In An Obvious, But Fun Family Drama 

After making films that were all about loving your family (Kadaikutty Singham, 2018) and loving your siblings (Namma Veetu Pillai, 2019), Pandiraj returns to home territory with a film that’s all about one family loving another family. It’s interestingly structured, with an inventive narrative tool that adds freshness to the same Visu-movie template. And when we meet Arasi (Nithya Menen) and Akasaveeran (Vijay Sethupathi) for the first time, they’re already married, and they also have a daughter. This gives it the feeling of reading a novel by starting somewhere in the middle, and as we run through the pages, flipping back and forth. We meet new people; we understand their interpersonal dynamics and the love-hate relationship that brought Arasi and Akasam to a point in their story where divorce is one signature away.

Nithya Menen and Vijay Sethupathi in a still from 'Thalaivan Thalaivii'

The two families have converged in front of their family deity, right in time to tonsure their daughter. Arasi’s family has hidden this major life event from her husband, and the film begins at the point when Akasam arrives battle-ready to confront them. Yet surprisingly, the tone is soft with a fresh dose of self-awareness; in an early scene, we see a character mocking the saccharine goodness of one of Pandiraj’s own older movies. 

The film is frantically paced without giving you a second to pause. Just when the portions set in the present day feel like it’s about to get out of hand, the film cuts back to 20-minute episodes, detailing the first time the two met, their wedding, the first days of marriage and the events that led to their many quarrels. In Arasi’s case, the conflict doesn’t simply arise from her inability to adjust to Akasam’s house. It’s twice as complex because she also must work with his family and help them run their family-run restaurant. As for Akasam, he needs to deal with her contentious brother and his past life as an ex-gangster. 

But we listen on, because both Akasam and Arasi are being played by two wonderfully in-sync actors. We finally get to see Vijay Sethupathi being matched in performance by an equal. Not only does this change the way we perceive the dynamics of this husband and wife, but we also see them competing with each other as performers, fighting for our attention. They’re delightful, and moments of conflict ooze with as much chemistry as with the romantic scenes.

Pandiraj, too, understands that and uses every chance he gets to keep them the centre of attention. In a tiny cutaway, Akasam panics as he spills tender coconut water on his shirt. As he shouts to check if it will stain, it’s Arasi who replies, almost out of habit, even when they appear to be minutes away from splitting up. The scene may have been written, but we feel that lived-in comfort between the actors, as though they’ve been married for years. 

Nithya Menen in 'Thalaivan Thalaivii'

And this is also why we stay invested even when the film derails into typical Pandiraj territory. From the lightness of its earlier portions, it switches into melodrama for the third act. Everything from here on becomes predictable, getting us to a place so safe and secure that we’ve seen it all before. The comedy side track of Yogi Babu keeps popping up out of nowhere, and even attempts to weave in other subplots feel too forced and convenient. 

It is also problematic for the way it eventually ends up reiterating stereotypes that Pandiraj has himself spoken about in his film. According to him, most couples fight because they are surrounded by poisonous mothers-in-law. The sister-in-law becomes another suspect, with the men of the family getting an easy exit from the issues. 

There are several moments of great fun and inventiveness that keep the film watchable, even if it remains strictly familiar. But after a wave of middle-class dramas all set within the city, is there any harm in returning to good old village life for a film we’ve all seen before, but might want to relish again?