Friday Aug 03 2007, Chennai

‘Thee Nagar' lacks fire power

After a moderate success with ‘Karuppasamy Kuththagaithaarar’, Karan has now come out with a new film titled Thee Nagar.The film tries to show the struggle of a single man against a Police Inspector.It also tries to incorporate a ‘message’ about the power of the students.Karan an ex-chairman of a college is an unemployed youth who frequents to employment exchange quite often (come on! We are living in 2007, where even an undergraduate gets a decent job in the city).The frustrated young man manages to become a self-employed, as he opens a teashop in front of the employment office.

If you think he will become a big shot through his business and get into trouble by some big businessman, you are wrong.The villain comes in the form of Inspector Shanmugarajan.Shanmugarajan buys a cigarette but does not pay for it, but the hero refuses to give the cigarette for free.The inspector feels insulted.The hero cares a damn for his power.

The inspector shows his power by demolishing the shop.The battle between the ordinary man and the powerful man begins.Thee Nagar moves on to narrate how Karan and his associates suffer in the hands of the ruthless police inspector and how they emerge triumph in the end.The director tries to bring in more complexities like students’ problems within this story.The result: the narrative looses its focus and gets confused.

Director could not do justice to any of the two tracks and hence the film falls flat.Karan does his job well and so does Meera Krishnan as his mother.Heroine Udayatara looks like a kid.Making her dance in skimpy outfits looks odd.Shanmugaraja is effective in a negative role, as usual.

Cesar Manohar, as a constable, succeeds in making us laugh.Sukumar, as Karan’s friend has given a solid performance.Basheer as collage chairman impresses.Music by Jassie Gift is competent."Kadavul Edharkku" song (penned by Snehan) is outstanding.

Debutant director Thirumalai has managed to give us a fast paced movie.But he has failed in coming up with a focused script and a credible storyline.Verdict: Thee Nagar fails to evoke any interest among audience.