User reviews

The Overall story of the film is good. Like almost every tamil films, a slow movie with an actress for just some songs and boring scenes. The performance of Suriya, Ramya Krishnan and others are good. Its a fairly entertaining movie you can watch for the weekend.

When you watch Special 26, you will feel that there is no single protagonist in the movie. Every character in the movie was given a importance of a leading role.

Unfortunately in the Tamil version everything revolves around the hero. Its very sad state of affair. Movie should have been named as Surya :). I am not sure if directors have to compromise for the star dom.

Vignesh knows the trick to convert a serious movie to a commercial masala movie. The whole essence of the original movie is the essence of the real life feel. Not a single moment of the movie you will feel real.

Cinematography... is a consolation from Dinesh

On the one side creators produce next generation movies like Aruvi, Aramm and on other hand this is what you have got is this.

This movie was a hit for Surya after very long time, editing of this movie could have been better, as sometimes you really get confused, whether you are in current or flashback. Comedy scenes were enjoyable too!

I enjoyed this movie, was the first Suriya movie I watched and thought he was pretty good, of course I watched this movie originally because of Ramya Krishnan.

It does have a nice little message, and it is fun to watch, which Ramya and Suriya were a big deal for the reason why. Seeing Ramya as Sivagami in Bahubali as the first movie, it was fun watching her turn into a sweet motherly type, she has huge acting range that is a shame she isn't globally known, almost a crime. Ramya's own range could be seen in this movie, due to her first scene she looked deadly as a cobra, then switched to a nervous mother type. Watch it aleast once.

The reviews of this movie really put me off so I want to point out a few things. First off, this does not seem to be a complete remake of Special 26. The director and writers seem to have taken creative decisions to alter the source material to suit Tamil audiences. Next is the fact that the original movie Special 26 is a movie based off actual events that occurred in North India. It would really make no sense to recreate the same movie when in the original they try to portray a semi historical account of the heists that occurred. Instead they've taken a different approach and altered the plot and the characters as well. I also loved the twist that happens in the end from the original (Special 26) however they've changed the twist in this movie but it was still pretty good. Definitely try to watch Special 26, it is a great movie but still give "Thaanaa Serndha Koottam" a watch.

Watch it if you like Surya, watch it if you want to laugh and have fun.

Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018) :

Since I watched Naanum Rowdy Dhaan,I was impressed by Vignesh Shivan's skill of blending humor in serious plots.So even when it is revealed that TSK is remake of acclaimed Bollywood film Special 26,I have huge expectations on how Vignesh would blend humor in such serious non-fictional events.SO did Vignesh Shivan impress again?

Plot:

Tilak(Surya) is a frustrated guy who fails to get a job in CBI because he could not pay the bribe. He forms a gang with Jhansi Rani(Ramya Krishnan) and few others to take a revenge by performing fake raids on several people in the society. In the process, the real CBI officers come to know about this and they start chasing down the same. Will the real CBI officers catch this Gang? What happens in the end ? Forms the story of the film.

My Review:

TSK has a core plot that is pretty similar to the Hindi film Special 26. It must be noted that they have acquired the rights to the Hindi film and Vignesh ShivN has modified the screenplay completely to suit the local audience. TSK actually looks like a highly original product that is sure to get recognition from local audience who haven't watched Special 26.

Like in Bollywood version, the film's events happen in 1987. The setting is Karaikudi in Tamilnadu. TSK doesn't turn serious at any time unlike its original; it is packaged with fun elements. The director has done most changes in the first part and some characters. He has introduced Ramya Krishna's character here, which was originally played by actor Anupam Kher. By bringing Ramya Krishna on board, the director has also used lot of comedy. The underlying humour though is director Vignesh Shivn's signature style. Throughout the film, it is the understated sarcasm that wins audience over.

But despite all of the fun,the movie gets bit dragged even for such crisp duration of 2hr12min.Vignesh Shivn constantly tries to be 'fun' and 'serious' and ends up not achieving both. There are places where Thaanaa Serndha Koottam catches us off-guard.Climax lacks logic.

Suriya is a proven actor who can do justice to any kind of role. For this character, he has turned very lean and looks much younger than his age. He has many scenes to showcase his multiple variations effectively. It looked odd in the trailer, but the star has done a commendable job as far as dubbing in Telugu is considered. With an ingeniously layered role and a brilliant act, Ramya Krishnan truly "steals" the show.The seasoned actress that she is, brings on the finer nuances of her character with a lot of dignity and understatedness.When real CBI catches Ramya Krishna, she gives the best performance. She is also quite natural in this.Suresh Chandra Menon is apt in his role.

Anirudh delivers a mixed bag. Sodakku is a chartbuster but other songs are just decent. It is the same with the background score as well which has its moments but is mostly uninspiring.The director has created '80s look and feel with his choice of locations and perfect art work. Cinematography is decent.

SO,Thaana Serndha Koottam may amuse those who didn't watch Special 26 but to those who watched the original,this comic version feels bit odd.

My Rating 6.25/10

For those that haven't watched special 26, this is one ride of a movie, but for those that did, the movie has so many unexplained scenes and stories which are left to the imagination of the viewer. The set up from 1987 seemed to be logical and refreshing to bring in old actors like Karthick, Sendhil but so many loopholes existed where a modern CCTV Camera is shown and said to be from 1987 and so many other little things which would have gone unnoticed to the normal viewer. Karthick's acting seemed a bit too forced and unnatural and the jokes were a bit too cringy. Sad that R.J Balaji didn't get much on screen time. I would recommend the audience to watch the original Special 26. Good for the mindless "MASSS" seeking kollywood audience. Keerthy Suresh's involvement in the first scene is left unexplained. Overall screenplay was not so smooth as it was all too rushed and jumbled up. Unnecessary elements were brought in,maybe to amplify the intensity of the scene but proved useless overall.

This is the of the best movies done by Suriya. It is an entertaining movie with good comedy and seriousness.The songs are really good,all the cast members have given a great performance

Imagine a Shankar's vigilante film blended with strong humor. That's what Vignesh Shivan's Thaanaa Serndha Koottam offers. Being the remake of Special 26, the film is definitely intriguing with its elements that gather all types of audiences. Suriya looks charismatic and energetic as usual. His performance doesn't need any further explanation because it's quite satisfying. Apart from him, we have very strong supporting actors with each and everyone has an equal share of screen space. They are able to lift the film along with Suriya with their performances. The only criticism would be for Keerthy Suresh. She doesn't have a purposeful role and she is less impactful. Technically, Thaanaa Serndha Koottam sounds really loud and it's worth mentioning that the recreation of the 80s period was a major strength for the film. Anirudh's album and background score are really intense and delightful. Okay! It's time to talk about Vignesh Shivan. As a filmmaker, he proved his strengths through Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. One might notice that Vignesh Shivan has strength in transforming a supposed to be serious film into a complete comedy riot. In Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, we have a typical Shankar kind of social issue that is treated as hilarious as possible. That's why Thaanaa Serndha Koottam is a fresh new experience. The kind of efforts that he used to build the environment and the characters are probably not much in the screenplay. There are so many ups and downs in the screenplay that might distract our attention from the film. Every character in the film has a backstory which is the reason why the film doesn't keep us on track. Just like a Shankar film, the hero has a motive to justify his con act. This is mostly one of the aspects that we have seen in every vigilante or social issue-based film. Except for the comedy aspect, Thaanaa Serndha Koottam lacks emotional impacts and surprising elements. Even the twist, in the end, seems to be not so attention grabber because it becomes somehow predictable to the audience. Overall, this heist comedy is a fun watch.

The movie doesnt have substantial elements nor any turning point which is a usual element in heist movies to grab our attention. The movie leisurely runs with few normal heist (with no twist nor turns) , followed by songs , and fight. The time period confuses so much so , i was made to believe RJ Balaji is the younger suriya .. So messed up. Also why take us to 1980's time ? Time period doesnt serve any purpose but to give director free hand in making the hero escape from everything , even after slapping a higher police official.

The songs dont stick , the actress dont stick, the sentiments dont stick ... Its all piled up flashy cinematography which shows 80's period so colorful , making us even scratch our head in which time period we are in.

It is entertaining to some limit , but other than that , there is nothing much in this film ...

First of all Director and writer Vignesh Sivan decided to make his own version of script based on the infamous Opera house heist in 1987, therefore it is vary from the original Special 26 and the proper way to adapt a successful movie to another region. A Remake to exist there have to be creative reasons to be showcased on and TSK does that with ease eventhough many Special 26 fans may get disappointed about the choices made on this TSK script I gladly accept those changes rather having to witness scene by scene adaptation which would look more like a Dubbed version of the original film. The movie work with many tones and managed to entertain all kind of audience with its subtle acting of the lead actor and other supporting characters. Casting was exceptional and the way those characters written is refreshing to care about them rather than being obsolete burdens. Director have played with audiences predictions by luring them into cliched act of scene then turning the table onto them. Cinematography and editing gives a richness to the film. It is definitely not a flawless movies, major issue would be since the movie written in a way that none of serious sequences and its consequences not created an impact as it supposed to be because it followed by comical relief. there are sub plots diluting the core theme of the movie and incomplete at the end and movie claims to be set on 1987 but since the cinematography goes for rich and vibrant colorful frames art work, costumes and look of the characters could have been in line with 80s style and feel. Overall its an enjoyable roller coaster ride to be delighted and entertained throughout the run time. Its very refreshing to Surya on such fun filled role and its a cakewalk for him to this simple role.

The story is not new or unique. It's the centuries old Robinhood story, retold in the eighties. I'm wondering about the motive of the director for showing this movie to happen in 1987. Perhaps the backlash he would have to face from politicians of the ruling parties. There are a lot of loop holes and inconsistencies in this movie. But we can't expect logic in the movie of a mass hero like Suriya. So forget about the loop holes. Suriya has acted perfectly well. This story doesn't require a heroine. So a heroine for heroine's sake. I've given 7 stars because this movie is an entertainer. If you want to pass 2 and odd hours without worrying about logic, plot, etc., this is your movie. This will definitely entertain you. One time watchable masala movie.

Tamil Cinema has a major handicap of depicting so called "Mass" appeal and "Showing Heroism". The male lead has to be a Hero for the masses always. He should not have any natural human tendencies. Instead he alone should take it on his shoulders to right all wrongs. Thaanaa Serndha Koottam also is plagued by this severe handicap.

The original Special 26 is a classy and crisp film that intrigues you in many ways. In the original the male lead is a common man with a sharp intellect. His motives and background are left to the audiences to make assumptions. This makes you appreciate the lead actor for being one among the mass yet stand out in his actions.

The Tamil version is a good example of how one can distort and spoil a classic story. Please watch the original with subtitles if you have to and don't waste your theater budget on the Tamil remake.

It's a remake alright. But that's probably the reason the movie falters. The remake has been "altered" to "suit" Tamil audience and hence slips into the boring category at times. The director is confused as to what direction he must be taking this movie in - movie with a message or a con-comedy movie. Unfortunately that weighs down the screenplay. The con scenes are well executed but the backstory and the message attempt fail to impress. Could have been much better has it been a con-comedy.

GENERAL The story revolves around a group of thieves acting as CBI officers to Catch all the fake money in our country which is held by people in high position (ex . Ministers) ACTING Suriya has proved himself again while keerthys performance was very poor . The bahubali fame Ramya Krishnan has also done her part very well. DIRECTION Vignesh Shivan has done it well . It has also been Scripted Very Well by him STORY Those who are looking for a good story please don't go for this movie . This movie does not have any logic it's a pure entertainment type of a movie . If you think logically you can find a lot of loop holes throughout it CINEMATOGRAPHY It was done by Dinesh Krishnan and he has done a good work MUSIC Anirudh has yet again surprised us . All the songs are very good This movie is a must watch for suriya fan . No lags . Entertaiment til the end

This movie does not have any logic nor any type sense in many of its scenes. It feels like an action comedy with lazy dialogue and stupid sense in the story. The hindi version is much better and would advise to watch that instead of this film. The Romance Track and Action Track are very very lame and idiotic in today's context. You might feel you wasted 2 hours of your time watching this film especially the boring climax which is a letdown. i'm giving 4 stars for the music and the cinematography which are great.

Watched it without any expectations and I liked it . If you have any expectations, just dump it and enjoy the show.

Suriya's acting as usual it is good . But it could have given more importance to the other characters and also the script. This is my personal opinion .

Highly recommended for surya fans. Typically surya entertainer with a mass appeal. But not a worth remake of original Bollywood move special 26. Not even a little 80's elements in the movie.

Delicious food, badly cooked.

Watched without any expectations and so I liked it.You may not like this

How do you ruin a good script??..this is how!! You take a perfectly cooked biryani and mix aachi masala in it to make more commercial.. Why did you guys do this why??

Entertaining,Fun, But Missing Some connections

Some Loopholes are still needed to be corrected

Suriya Looks Charming throughout the Movie