Etharkkum Thunindhavan HD Released

 

In Etharkkum Thunindhavan, Suriya plays Kannabiran, a lawyer who stands by the side of justice and protects the innocents. At home, he is the doting son to his parents Aadhirayar (Sathyaraj, whose presence lends more weight to the character than the writing) and Kosalai (Saranya Ponvannan, in a role that she can, by now, play in her sleep). And in the eyes of Aadhini (a fine Priyankaa Arul Mohan), his love interest, he is like Murugan. In short, he is more or less an avatar, and without straining too much, director Pandiraj establishes the myth of his protagonist. The plot takes this idea forward with Kannabiran trying to protect the dignity of women.

The evil man who is doing the 'disrobing' here is Inba (Vinay Rai, taking off from where he left off in Doctor), a central minister's son. Inba and his gang exploit unsuspecting young women in the name of love and shoot videos of them in sexually compromising positions, and later use the videos to blackmail the victims, a clear allusion to the Pollachi sexual assault cases. When Kannabiran saves Yazhnila, Aadhini's friend, Inba decides to target the lawyer and threatens to leak hidden cam videos of 500 women if he doesn't give up Yazh.

At the plot-level, Etharkkum Thunindhavan pretty much moves along on predictable lines. But, like he did with his films like Vamsam and Kadaikutty Singam, Pandiraj roots the characters with very specific backgrounds, which lends some freshness. Like the backdrop in which the film happens. Kannabiran lives in Thennaadu, a region that cherishes women. Inba belongs to the neighbouring village Vadanaadu, whose men marry the girls of Thennaadu. But there is some conflict between the two villages ever since the suicide of a Thennaadu woman who had been married off to a Vadanaadu guy.

The director smartly uses this to inject some suspense and humour into the romance between Kannabiran and Aadhini, who is from Vadanaadu. Some of the humour works, thanks to Devadarshini, who plays Aadhini's mother Anjumani. But the bunch of comedians who are part of the cast are a letdown. Even Soori, who usually shines in this director's films, is hardly funny.