'Thalli Pogathey' Review

Introduction

'Thalli Pogathey' is a remake of the famous Telugu movie 'Ninnu Kori.' The movie deals with love, abandonment, and second chances at life. The primary theme of the movie is the passionate love affair between Karthik (Atharva Murali) and Pallavi (Anupama Parameswaran). They split up, nevertheless, for unknown reasons, and Pallavi is now wed to Arun (Amitash). Why did Pallavi and Karthik split up? How are the early phases of their romantic relationship? What led to their separation, and why? Why did Pallavi wed Arun, and why? The rest of the story is made up of what happens at the end.

Cast and Crew

In the movie, Atharvaa plays Karthik, Anupama Parameswaran as Pallavi and Amitash Pradhan plays Arun; they are in the lead roles. At the same time, Kaali Venkat as Omkar, Aadukalam Naren as Pallavi's father, and Jagan as Karthik's friend are some of the other supporting characters. R. Kannan directed the movie with Lalit Aditya, Aysel Aghayeva, Tahir Alizada, and Afsar Allahveriyev.

Plot

The plot revolves around Pallavi, her husband Arun, and Karthik. Karthik is pursuing his doctorate from Chennai. When he first meets Pallavi, he falls in love at first sight. Destiny comes to his aid, and she approaches him to learn to dance. Pallavi eventually falls for him as the training in dance progresses. Karthik takes up residence in Pallavi's home and attempts to become acquainted with her family. He develops close relations with Pallavi's father (Aadukalam Naren), revealing details about his private life with him.

Karthik and Pallavi develop feelings for one another. Pallavi proposes to Karthik to walk away and marry, correctly knowing that her father will not agree to their love. Karthik, on the other hand, doesn't feel the same and declines her proposal. He discovers that Pallavi's father is fine with love, but he prefers a responsible, stable person as his daughter's companion.

Karthik switches his focus to bettering his life to fit into Pallavi's father-in-law's approach. Meanwhile, a heartbroken Pallavi decides to marry the suitor chosen by her father. She marries Arun and relocates to France to live with him. Karthik is disappointed when he learns this. Karthik becomes a drunkard, as our heroes do when they have lost their love. Karthik encounters Pallavi in France after a few years. He believes Pallavi remains in love with him and lives a miserable life with Arun. Pallavi tries to persuade him that she is content with her life and has moved on.

Pallavi comes up with an innovative idea to persuade Karthik that she is happy. She invites him to spend 10 days in her home with her and Arun. Karthik dives in right away as if this is what he's been waiting for. He decides to live with them.

In the end, Karthik understands that, while Pallavi continues to be his, it is only fair that she remains with Arun. He manipulates Pallavi into realizing Arun's honesty by forcing Pallavi's father into an act where he appears to be an evil person to Pallavi. Arun prepares to leave the house, assuming Pallavi will be pleased, but she refuses, and they clear up their miscommunication by Arun informing Pallavi that he only loves her. Karthik is disappointed when they embrace at their reunion and walk out of the house, grieving and crushed.

Review

Rarely do remakes achieve the same level of popularity as their original. This is so it can escape the shadows cast by its successful original version when a popular movie is reproduced. The task is more challenging than it seems. In taking on the challenge, director R. Kannan has, to be fair, achieved some measure of success. But he is unable to complete the task.

He does a good job of portraying the romance between Karthik and Pallavi. These are airy, light-hearted scenes. These sections keep us interested in the movie. However, they are all but small fragments of the overall picture. We aren't entertained by Thalli Pogathey as a whole drama.

The film Thalli Pogathey offers an original notion, yet despite its originality, it comes off as boring because of the weak writing, flat characters, and lifeless performances. The three leads barely have any chemistry with one another. The only thing that feels modern and elegant is the production design and the Parisian setting. However, this just gives us the impression that we are viewing a feature-length TV commercial with a lack of emotion.

The idea of the story is a compelling one. But as the plot develops, one begins to lose interest due to the drab storyline and a few lifeless performances. When Pallavi's father returns to the narrative after finding out that there is a problem with the marriage, the plot somewhat picks up. There is an endeavor to make this humorous, but the outcome is predictable.

Star Performance

Atharvaa appears on screen, but he seems to be simply navigating through the paces. In contrast to Amitash, whose performance appears to be that of a jovial, open-minded husband, Anupama is unable to rise beyond the generic scripting of her role. Only Aadukalam Naren can pull off an effective portrayal of a sympathetic parent attempting to make sense of contemporary relationships.

Arun was portrayed by actor Aadhi Pinisetty in the original version, and his performance was crucial to the direction of the film. Ninnu Kori was marketable because of the chemistry between Nivetha Thomas and Aadhi Pinisetty. However, Thalli Pogathey's Pallavi and Arun have little chemistry. They're an uninteresting couple to watch. And Thalli Pogathey loses stream just as this couple appears in front of us.

Amitash and Atharvaa are merely adequate. Anupama is given a substantial role, although she has some difficulty carrying it off. In the role of Anupama's father, Naren did a great job. In actuality, he was the one who grabbed the lead and dazzled the crowd.

Technical Aspects

The music is technically identical to the Telugu version. However, the lyrics are insufficient to make an impression. The background score by Gopi Sunder is effective. The shots by cinematographer N Shanmuga Sundaram are decent but could have been more effective.

Upside

A compelling narrative with a stellar cast.

Downside

The performances are unable to stand out.

Better screenplay and narration were needed.

Box Office Review

Thalli Pogathey was released on December 24th, 2021. The film is a Moderate budget regional film, with a budget of roughly 5 crores and essentially no usage of VFX and stunt sequences.

Public Review

Times of India: 2/5

Sify: 2/5

IMDb: 5.5/10

Verdict

Overall, Thalli Pogathey doesn't have the same fairy-tale aspect as its original version, which seriously undermines its goal of being a groundbreaking contemporary Tamil love story.