Among many classic epics, one movie particularly brought the best of everybody associated with it. On Deepavali day 1991, the celebration would have been bigger than usual. The reason was the gargantuan release of Thalapathi. This film also marks the first time collaboration of the master director, Mani Ratnam and Superstar Rajinikanth himself. One might ponder, why such hullabaloo surrounding this movie? Thalapathi is a seamless blend of Mani Ratnam’s textbook film-making. It is a powered by a drama which showcases an unconventional friendship, loss, heartbreak and loyalty backed with a magnificent score by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and colourful camera work by Santhosh Sivan. Mani Ratnam holds one of the biggest fan bases as a director and he is one of the biggest influencers of the Indian cinema and Thalapathi is a film made his fans admire him more.
Very few filmmakers from India have the vision and guts to tell the stories of the underdogs, the depressed and the diseased and Mani Ratnam is one of them. Ratnam’s body of work comprises of many such films like Nayagan, Geetanjali, Anjali, Kannathil Muthumittal and Raavanan but his Thalapathi remains a towering example. The legendary epic Mahabharata continues to eternally inspire Indian film-makers and Thalapathi draws a strong inspiration from the Arjun-Karna rivalry subplot. And yes, this Mahabharata has no Krishna! Starring the South Indian superstars “Thalaivar” Rajinikanth and Mammootty along with a stellar cast of Amrish Puri, Arvind Swamy, Shobhana, Bhanupriya, Srividya, Geetha, Nagesh and Charuhasan, this film completes a glorious 29 years today.
The strength of Thalapathi is its screenplay. It is a tough film to narrate. It is not a film about perfect people. It is a film about imperfect and grey people. It is a film about a large-hearted orphan who wants to know his identity, a ruthless but kindhearted underworld goon, an indifferent righteous government officer, a caste obsessed father and a brooding mother. Ratnam builds an inimitable bond with an ever-lasting friendship between the orphan and the goon, draws a war line between the officer and the buddy duo, crushes the mother between her sons and breaks the orphan’s heart when he loses love due to a caste. In moments treated gently and softly, Ratnam explores the vulnerable sides of everyone with great gravity. In a script inspired by Mahabharata, Rajinikanth plays Karna, Mammootty plays Duryodhana, Shobhana plays Draupadi, Arvind Swami plays Arjuna and Srvidya plays Kunti. By making you root for the characters in the film, the quintessential Mani Sir casts a spell on us.
Thalapathi boasts a huge experienced star cast. Rajinikanth as Surya is one of the best character-oriented roles donned by the superstar in recent years. His effortless style and rugged looks sum up a role tailor-made for him. The angry and fearless Rajinikanth portrayed is pulsating in every scene. One such example is the scene that takes place in the office of the collector. The insistence of Surya on taking the law by their hands and the dialogue Thoddra pakkalam uttered is still unmatched till date. Mammootty as Deva has given weight to the role and reacted well to the dialogue delivery. His calm and composed posture as a leader worked well. His chemistry with Rajini is top-notch. Shobana as Surya’s love interest did a good job. Her homely looks and her traditional outfit matched her characteristic of an orthodox Brahmin family. The likes of Jaishankar, Srividya, Arvind Saamy, Amrish Puri and other stars justified their roles though had limited screen space.
The towering plus of Thalapathi will have to be the technically sound team. Director Mani Ratnam made characters that suits, lives and lingers in your mind even after you leave the theatre. The screenplay is woven tightly and unveiled with an exemplary narration made surrounding the protagonist. Maverick cinematographer Santhosh Sivan also delivers behind the lens for his first film with Mani Ratnam. His opulence and overhead shots are well-etched and the experimental lightings give the feel of nostalgia. Surya is synonym with the Sun. Hence, one can see the brilliance of Sivan when he captures the effulgence of the sun illuminating behind Surya in many scenes, giving a silhouette shot especially a scene when he confronts Jaishankar in particular. Class act!
This version of Mahabharata is narrated from the side of the Kaurava clan and Thalapathi belongs to the twin star duo of Rajinikanth and Mammootty. The bravest decision of their respective careers to do a non-masala film, Rajinikanth and Mammootty as Devarajan and Surya steal your hearts. I am in particular awe of Mammootty as Devaraj who blindly believes Surya. The film is sprinkled with intimate moments of their friendship, loyalty, affection and mutual respect taking a leaf out of the great Karna-Duryodhana friendship. Thalapathi had all that a Rajini fan wanted but it was one of the first few times when Rajini played a character deep and daring. The scenes of confrontation between Rajinikanth and Mammootty when Rajinikanth beats a henchman of Mammootty and the friendship which sprouts later to he becoming the Thalapathi of Mammootty’s gang is pure gold etched with platinum.
Thalapathi is the story of Surya and his friend Devaraj. But Thalapathi equally belongs to the women in Surya’s life. It belongs to Kalyani who abandons Surya as a newborn, Subbalakshmi who loses her love Surya and marries Arjun, Padma who comes into Surya’s life and Selvi, who becomes the elder sister of Surya as Devarajan’s wife. In a way, Ratnam builds his screenplay along with his woman characters who get torn between the men. In between the superstar duo, the stellar performances of the women stand out far and clear.
Mani Ratnam is essentially known for making his songs timeless and Thalapathi is a jewel in his crown. Apparently his last collaboration with Ilaiyaraaja, Thalapathi is filled with fun compositions like Rakkamma Kaiya Thaattu and Kaatukuyile and deep numbers like Yamuna Athrile. Raja Sir takes the film to the next level with his archetypal background score. Sometimes rousing and sometimes poignant, The “Thalapathi” title score is my favourite and it still gives me goosebumps even today. Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu is rated by BBC as fourth in the world’s top 10 most popular songs of all time. Such is the Ilaiyaraaja’s work. There is nothing much to praise about the visuals of the songs as they are as good as any classic song of Mani Ratnam.
In a nutshell, Thalapathi delivers as expected. Justified by great actors and technical crew, Thalapathi marks an auspicious beginning for a new age crime drama in Indian cinema. A timeless film, and has a cult following all for the right reasons. Rajini as the Thalapathi commands all the way through. A classic epic elated by big guns, a sure shot cracker.
