Thorati Movie Review: Rating 3.5/5
Cast: Shaman Mithru, Sathyakala
Directed by: Marimuthu
Produced by: Shaman Mithru
In this film, Semponnu, played by a terrific Sathyakala, brings a whole load of righteous anger to the trope, reminding me a lot of Saritha and how the characters portrayed by her would tackle being a woman in a man’s world. This is a girl who isn’t shy when it comes to giving a piece of mind to her husband or his wastrel friends. She isn’t shy in asking her in-laws to go away to the next village to see an old MGR film so that she and Mayan will have the house to themselves for the night. She isn’t shy at taking tough decisions that will leave a lasting impact on her husband’s psyche either.
Such lovely characterisations are peppered throughout the script, and it doesn’t stop with the characters either. Whilst establishing the world in which this love story takes place, the language used is so rooted that you have to listen hard lest you miss a joke or snarky comment.
Also, the way the director, who doubles up as writer, has used traditional pagan god worship as a tool to psychologically influence the characters’ decisions has to be commended. This painstaking world-building, of a world which is alien to me as a city dweller, and the filmmaker’s dedication to stay true to it, really helps this film.
But there are certain aspects that take us out of the world he has created, the biggest culprit being the background score. Thorati has two separate music directors — one for songs and one for BGM — and it is the latter that fails this film.
The sounds are generic and the treatment is akin to that of TV serials. In addition, there are innumerable short flashbacks (I lost count after the fifth one) that keep jerking us out of the film.The cinematography, which captures the village in all its beauty and the effortless performance from the heroine and the trio are positives of the film. The emotions, especially towards the end, connect with the audience, thanks to the convincingly presented sequences.Except for Mayan’s retro shirts, the film feels like it could have been from any other period. The film gets predictable mid-way and feels like a drag towards the end. Thorati with its black and white story, has captured the lives of goat herding families in the 80s in Tamil Nadu fairly well. It does not discuss caste politics and remains a straightforward story.
