What Is the Story About?
The political future of Tamil Nadu CM Arunachalam hangs in the balance after a corruption trial takes a decisive turn. His daughter Amudhavalli and son-in-law Hariharan set their eyes on the throne and employ vicious tricks to eliminate their rivals. What connects the political turmoil to Durga, who’s accused of murdering a local leader from Jharkhand?
Performances?
Thalaimai Seyalagam has powerhouse performers in pivotal roles – from Aadukalam Suresh to Ramya Nambeesan and Sriya Reddy. Aadukalam Suresh, as the good-willed political patriarch, plays his part with commendable restraint and represents the breed of leaders that the society deserves. Sriya Reddy’s hunger to reinvent herself after a sabbatical is resulting in a fantastic series of ‘firebrand’ performances – from Salaar to Suzhal and the ZEE5 show now.
Ramya Nambeesan embraces the shades of grey in Amudhavalli with terrific panache and you empathise with her pain despite the character’s questionable intent. Bharath may’ve played the angry cop many times on the big screen, but this is easily the finest script among the lot and his on-screen aggression comes with a strong purpose.
Adithya Menon is impressive in a meaty role as a CBI officer. The services of the old horses – Santhana Bharathi and YG Mahendran – are used well. Kani Kusruti’s portrayal is passable although the true essence of the characterisation doesn’t come to the fore effectively. Sara Black’s casting as the angsty, rebellious teenager and aspirant musician is apt. Niroop Nandakumar is a natural, portraying an antagonist.
Analysis
Vasantha Balan, who has consistently tapped into the complexities of interpersonal relationships in varied setups, striking a fine balance between realism and intimate storytelling, raises the stakes with ZEE5’s Thalaimai Seyalagam at the right time of his career. The long format enables him to put his vast directorial experience to work and string together an absorbing, layered political drama.
Thalaimai Seyalagam has three parallel threads involving an internal crisis within the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, a CBI officer’s investigation into a leader’s mysterious death and a cop’s effort to dig deeper truths behind a murder attempt. The potent premise is channelised efficiently to explore the larger idea of justice and many facets of human behaviour – insecurity, greed and the lust for power.
Despite the dramatic potential of the story, Thalaimai Seyalagam doesn’t take off smoothly. It is too information-heavy, bombarding the viewer with a wide array of conflicts, and heavy-duty dialogues and it’s easy to lose sight of the various character trajectories. The narrative isn’t all seamless and too leisurely while knitting its subplots together, but the 30-minute episodes ensure you’re not too distracted.
Arunachalam is quite an intriguing central character for a political drama. He has his sore spots, but is a pragmatist with a set of ideals and knows what it takes to be a people-pleaser. In a male bastion, he vouches for a woman’s voice within and beyond his party. Except for Madhusoodanan, his trusted aides in the party are women – his daughter Amudhavalli and the poised, bankable Kottravai.
The drama is generally backed by good writing, though it lacks focus and the staging is not particularly imaginative on many occasions. In particular, the CBI officer’s hunt to trace the whereabouts of Durga is overly exaggerated. The discord between Kottravai and her daughter Maya deserved a stronger basis (than teenage angst) and their caustic conversations leave you with a bitter aftertaste.
Thalaimai Seyalagam tests your patience as it teases you about the shaky past between Durga and Kottravai. For a long time, you struggle to decode the reason behind Durga’s extremist views and even when you realise her past, the drama isn’t as explosive as it hopes to be. The series overcomes a rather haphazard, messy start and gains its mojo only when the motives of its key characters become obvious.
The tension in the dense premise is exploited fully in the final set of episodes as the common thread connecting the sub-plots is out in the open. The Shakespearean influences in the drama, peppered with adequate inspiration from modern-day incidents offer a juicy closure to the characters. Though it leaves you with a lot of questions, poetic justice is ultimately delivered.
Music and Other Departments?
The background score appreciably takes the backseat and allows the narrative to flourish in the show’s high-stakes moments while the only song (Maya’s college number) is not all that memorable. Ravishankaran’s cinematography is among the high points of the show, capturing a wide variety of backdrops from the hinterlands of North India to the interiors of Tamil Nadu with verve and vibrancy. The narrative structure is slightly patchy and one wished the editor made more effort to ensure a seamless storytelling style.
Highlights?
Positives:
Assertive performances
Impressive writing
Terrific attention to detail
Drawbacks?
Negatives:
Patchy staging at places
Needlessly exaggerated in a few key moments
Too leisurely in connecting the dots
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Will I recommend it? For drama enthusiasts, yes
Thalaimai Seyalagam Review by Binged Bureau
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