‘Thaai Kizhavi’ movie review: Radikaa Sarathkumar’s masala comedy of gold standards signals a commanding new filmmaking voice

A cinephile person erstwhile said however cinema, some the creation signifier and industry, is simply a thriving, sentient being that knows who it indispensable clasp oregon fto go, and erstwhile it needs what astatine immoderate circumstantial time. And if we were to judge successful that fantastical idea, the container bureau rut successful 2026 feels similar a reckoning telephone for Tamil cinema’s adjacent torchbearer to emergence to the occasion. There’s a caller filmmaker successful the block, who, by each means, seems to beryllium the recalibrating dependable Tamil mainstream cinema needed.

Sivakumar Murugesan’s debut Thaai Kizhavi is simply a movie that feels similar the perfection of an archetype galore filmmakers person been toying with implicit the past fewer years — it’s a rollicking, leave-you-in-splits drama that surprises you each measurement of its way, has a pressing affectional core, fields for the close progressive register, and leaves you feeling thoroughly satisfied.

In the colourful satellite of Thaai Kizhavi, everything and thing seems spring-loaded to tickle you oregon sting you. There’s a tattoo of Kamal Haasan’s look connected a man’s thorax that gets its stock of respect; there’s a wayward drunkard whose lone occupation is to support alight a lamp extracurricular the Lord Karuppan temple; there’s a loudspeaker that someway knows which Kamal opus to play when, conscionable similar the photograph of a deceased aged antheral whose expressions support changing. At the centre of it each is Pavunuthaayi (Radikaa Sarathkumar is exceptional), the stronghold astir which each of Karumathur pivots: her girl Suruli (Raichal Rabecca) and her good-for-nothing husband, Pavunuthaayi’s 3 dimwit sons, and a 40-something most-eligible bachelor of the town. Hell, heaven, and Karumathur each determination astir these wonderfully written characters.

Interestingly, the idiosyncratic we archetypal conscionable is the 1 who would perfectly bookend this ensemble-driven communicative — the walls of the houses successful Karumathur diagnostic the antheral and pistillate heads of the family, each but that of Pennycuick (Munishkanth), who does everything helium tin to get married. Then we conscionable Pavunuthaayi, who is simply a beauteous contradiction of all-embracing emotion and iron-fisted authority. She prays to galore gods of her satellite for the wellness and prosperity of each beings, a supplication that crescendos into a Murugan opus (Sivakumar Murugesan, interestingly, is besides helming Sivakarthikeyan’s next, Seyon, meaning ‘Murugan’, besides acceptable successful Karumathur). Her girl Suruli, successful contrast, gets a muted entranceway successful the large shadiness her parent casts. Every day, erstwhile Pavunuthaayi finishes her prayers and steps retired of her house, sirens spell disconnected successful the heads of the townsmen, for they cognize what is to travel — she would spell connected a merciless locomotion astir the town, collecting interests connected the wealth she has lent implicit the years. “Kaal mulachi nadandhu varum ayyanaar aruva iva,” “Local don-u, Sungudi kattivandha Superman-u,” spell the lyrics of a song, arsenic successful this duality of Pavunuthaayi lies the film’s honorable core. She erstwhile vowed that adjacent if she dies, she would locomotion to the graveyard each by herself and prevarication down. Whether it was the doing of the Yaman, whom she mocks, oregon the Karuppan, who Vesakutta (Aathadi Kumaran) asks to instrumentality Pavunuthaayi away, the aged pistillate gets bedridden each of a sudden.

The quality reaches Pavunuthaayi’s sons, wastrels of each kind, who get elaborate introductions that permission you successful splits. Vijayan (Aruldoss), an car driver, is the benignant who would squander Rs 50 successful pursuit of a one-rupee coin. Uppiliyan (Singampuli), a Kamal Haasan fanatic, rents retired euphony systems to functions; helium plays lone Kamal songs to the dismay of fans of Rajinikanth, Sathyaraj, Ramki, and Raj Kiran. Meanwhile, angiosperm seller Selvam’s (Bala Saravanan) garlands each look shriveled — Sivakumar’s brilliance lies successful however adjacent Selvam’s narration with flowers goes connected a afloat travel successful the film. The 3 prodigal sons each instrumentality to Karumathur, not due to the fact that they are disquieted astir their mother, but due to the fact that she had vowed that nary of them would get immoderate stock of her properties, astatine slightest until her death. A 4th and large entranceway is made by Pavunuthaayi’s son-in-law (Muthukumar), vowing to cod the remainder of the dowry owed to him.

Meanwhile, a stranger, wearing achromatic and different markings of a affluent man, shows up and informs the sons of a shocking item astir their parent — she had bought 160 sovereigns of golden from the man’s golden store successful Madurai. He shows them the receipt, and they portion unneurotic that possibly this is what she does successful her concealed play travel to Madurai. Unable to root the spot wherever she has hidden the gold, the 3 men present go affectionate sons who anticipation to cure their parent from the sickness. A hilarious communicative astir the existent wealthiness of beingness begins.

The spot of Thaai Kizhavi is however organically the pieces autumn into place. Sivakumar hardly misses a bushed — adjacent a casual subplot astir Suruli’s son’s romance with a young pistillate is handled with attraction and purpose. Moments that marque a assemblage burst retired successful laughter are stacked successful a abbreviated joke-per-second ratio, but Sivakumar is conscious that nary gag is crass, and the close connection comes through. For instance, however Selvam, the lone educated antheral of the lot, struggles to recognize the English of a doc makes for laughs, but the contiguous adjacent country garners claps arsenic it shows the pb doc explaining to the erstwhile doc the apathy and weak-mindedness of talking to others successful a connection they don’t understand.

Similarly, the usage of deed yesteryear tracks — which has go a inclination acknowledgment to the likes of Lokesh Kanagaraj — hits a highest successful Thaai Kizhavi, arsenic Sivakumar displays an enchanting knack to cognize which lesser-used opus (mostly of Kamal) works organically and where; it’s similar going connected a travel with a person who knows conscionable the astir bizarre happening to accidental astatine the close time. It isn’t conscionable astir booming the opus successful the background; Sivakumar changes the staging, changeable composition, and editing of the scenes to suit the way — similar a hilarious spot that features the ‘Kushi’ taxable song. Nothing prepares the assemblage for the clap-worthy usage of ‘Vishwaroopam’ and ‘Karbagraham Vitu,’ which are each acceptable to go talking points successful the upcoming days.

Sivakumar besides seems to beryllium a deft screenwriter who knows erstwhile to standard down and erstwhile to displacement gears. The post-intermission lull, which has been plaguing galore Tamil films, seems premeditated here, arsenic Sivakumar lays the groundwork for what is surely 1 of the astir satisfying 3rd acts successful a mainstream social-comedy. Thaai Kizhavi bats for each the close things, and each dialog uttered successful the climax motivated the assemblage to hoot and whistle. “Even erstwhile they commune to men for creation, extortion and destruction, they indispensable commune to women for wealthiness and education,” goes 1 of those goosebumps-inducing lines. Perhaps, the lone niggle with penning is however one-note Pavunuthaayi’s daughters-in-law (Muthulakshmi, Nirosha and Abinaya) go and look undeserving of the relation they play successful the climax. Even that seems passable successful this different neat film, which is besides a uncommon breed of societal play that staunchly pokes astatine the strategy without hurting immoderate sentiments oregon leaving immoderate leeway for counters.

There’s a infinitesimal successful the movie that sends shivers down our spine; an aged pistillate whom Selvam comes crossed dies, and the dialog uttered present makes you gulp a lump successful your throat. But Sivakumar is besides a writer of specified calibre that adjacent what helium wishes not to underline — similar the value of savings successful a satellite wherever aesculapian expenses tin extremity each fortunes — stays with you.

Throughout Thaai Kizhavi, I often recovered myself wondering if this was the enactment of a debutant. This is the enactment of an all-new filmmaking dependable that doesn’t privation to beryllium constricted to acceptable patterns. Sivakumar Murugesan has loudly announced his entrance, and helium has each the signs of a game-changer that Tamil mainstream cinema has desperately needed. With Thaai Kizhavi, Tamil cinema has yet managed to commencement firing its cylinders successful 2026.

Thaai Kizhavi is presently moving successful theatres