Arun Vijay's Thadam is an investigative crime thriller that marks his reunion with his Thadaiyara Thaakka director, Magizh Thirumeni. The former is a very important film in respective careers of both the talents and the duo have now come up with Thadam. The teaser and the trailer showed a great promise setting up high expectations. Has the film lived up to its expectations?

A murder. Two suspects. The police are confused. The audience is kept in suspense. This will pretty much sum up the crux of Thadam that keeps the audience intrigued for the most part. The two suspects are Ezhil and Kavin, both played by Arun Vijay. They both share an interesting relationship and who among the two committed the murder is answered in this 138 minutes thriller. 


Arun Vijay looks stylish and makes a great impression with both the characters. He adapts to the mood of the film quite well and displays himself with conviction and maturity. The CCV star is honest to both the roles and has thrown his best. The story majorly travels around him and he holds the film, as the supporting actors do not make a big impact. Vidya Pradeep gets a very important role to play and she does it neatly, but there's a sense of artificiality and one couldn't completely accept her in the role of a cop. More focus could have been given to Fefsi Vijayan as the veteran scored convincingly with the given screentime. Sonia Agarwal's performance doesn't match with the dubbing and while she doesn't emote heavily on screen, we hear loud cries from the dubbing actor. Yogi Babu is used as a character in the film, than as a comedian and he helps with the proceedings.


The writing of Thadam is clever and intelligent and it keeps the game interesting. The audience isn't taken for granted as the flow is confined and straight. The murder sequence is well shot that becomes the starting point for the mystery. Magizh has left a clue at the start point for the audience to predict, but there are high chances of losing the track because the pace of the film and continuous happenings will keep you intrigued and not allow you to follow up with your prediction. This is where Magizh Thirumeni triumphs with a vibrant smile. The intensity is sensed and felt throughout the investigation. 

Usually, in a crime thriller, there are two situations that are majorly used in Tamil cinema. One is, the audience knows who committed the crime through the visuals, but the Police characters inside the film wouldn't have a clue. In the second option, the audience wouldn't know, but the characters inside the film will know. Thadam takes a path that is less travelled, where, both the audience and the characters have no clue about the murderer. The judgment for the case in the court comes as an eye opener, that pinpoints the small loopholes in our judicial laws. The characters are also interestingly used to help with the highpoints of the film. The characteristic features are neatly etched out that shows a good difference between Ezhil and Kavin.


On the flipside, the screenplay isn't completely clear as it sounds on paper and there are chances of audience finding it tough to follow the mystery. Towards the last few minutes, there is an overdo of twists that reduce the intensity of the film. When you are proven wrong at one point, another twist comes up and within a few minutes, yet another, and then one more! Also, Vidya Pradeep’s action during the suspense revelation sounds like very convenient writing and doesn’t seem to be acceptable. The flashback portions face a dip and don't majorly help in the engagement. There were also slight deviations from the core plot during the said portion.


Debutant Arun Raj garners attention as a music director, who gives his best shot for a crime thriller. His work is apt, supplementing the film. Gopinath's visuals add up to the dark and intense mood and the Dutch angles are used wisely. Srikanth's cuts are sleek and holds the curiosity. Magizh's writing, as said earlier, is perfect. The momentum is transferred on screen too, for a major extent. Had the complications in the screenplay been made quite easy, it would've given a better experience. Nevertheless, Thadam is a crime thriller that will definitely keep you intrigued in suspense.

Verdict - A well-written crime thriller that holds the suspense to a major extent!

Rating - 2.75/5