Thai Kizhavi Review: Womanhood, Wisdom and Radhika Sarathkumar in all its glory
Thai Kizhavi Movie Review: Director Sivakumar Murugesan’s film, starring Radhika Sarathkumar, Singampuli, Aruldoss and Bala Saravanan, is a hilarious drama about women’s agency and breaking generational chains without being preachy or melodramatic.
Imagine a foul-mouthed matriarch who terrorizes everyone with her mere presence, yet imparts the most valuable lessons on independence, agency, and womanhood. If you work on the social media version of ethics, your mind will immediately question this dichotomy. But Shivakumar Murugesan’s Thai Kizhav Stabilizes you, takes you back to real life and makes you laugh while you silently ask the most important question of all – what does it mean to truly live instead of merely living in someone else’s shadow?
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Pavunuthai, played by the magnetic Radhika Sarathkumar is a widow who is living life completely on her own terms. She stalks villagers for money borrowed on interest, terrorizes older men who wear their patriarchal mentality like a badge of honour, and takes no prisoners with her sharp tongue. She earns a lot of hatred in the village – but Pavunuthai is too level-headed to be defined by that alone.
When an untoward incident forces his three sons – Vijayan (Aruldoss), Uppiliyaan (Singampuli) and Selvam (Bala Saravanan) under his roof, drama, chaos and comedy ensue. Thai Kizhav Really about.
Debutant director Shivakumar Murugesan gets straight into the story without wasting any time. He grabs your attention and doesn’t let it go throughout the film’s two-hour, 24-minute runtime. The witty one-liners land with precision, and the film’s use of classic Tamil film references goes far beyond nostalgia. Where many films leave out a familiar song or dialogue for cheap laughs, Thai Kizhav They are used with surgical intent. An important scene from KushiVishwaroopam’s dude andrew therigiradhaand a track from Virumandi Each finds an entirely new meaning in a new context – like Kamal Haasan Kanmani Anbodu resonated differently in sweet boy. It’s a rare, satisfying trick when it works so well.
The humor in the first half is relentless but never mean-spirited. Murugesan, clearly a student of Kamal Haasan’s brand of intellectual comedy, keeps the writing sharp and the situations grounded. During this he paid tribute to Kamal Haasan. So much so that Kamal Haasan remains a character throughout the film. The second part shifts gears to tackle sensitive subjects – language imposition, capitalism, misogyny, patriarchy, remarriage, divorce, and the painful reality of children abandoning aging parents – without turning into melodrama, with cool confidence. The film does not take the moral high road by declaring that people matter more than money. What really makes it unique is its refusal to be preachy.
Radhika Sarathkumar gets a role, and she owns every frame. Pavunuthayee is a woman whose life is in her own hands – a privilege she uses without apology and extends to the women around her. She does not shrink in the face of loss. She gets up and by doing so silently sets an example. It’s a brilliant, career-defining performance.
The cast more than delivers. Munishkanth and Bala Saravanan are particularly impressive, delivering both comedy and emotion brilliantly. Athadi Kumaran as a drunkard and Vijaya Ganapathy as Pavunuthayi’s grandson add to the enjoyable comedy. Composer Niwas K Prasanna’s background score elevates key moments with devotion Murugar Tracks worthy of special mention. Cinematographer Vivek Vijayakumar has depicted rural life with warmth and simplicity.
Thai Kizhav Well-intentioned, sharply executed, quietly radical and much needed in today’s world. It supports financial independence and women’s agency without feeling like a lecture. Shivakumar Murugesan’s final frame is wholesome, powerful and unmistakably progressive – the work of a filmmaker who clearly had something to say and knew how to say it.
