Kamal Haasan’s Thoongaavanam Is Stylish, But Not Wholesomely Great

Thoongaavanam might be stylish and racy, but it’s not wholesomely great.

Kamal Haasan’s latest outing Thoongaavanam, an adaptation of the French thriller Sleepless Night, is easily the most stylish Tamil film one has seen in a long time. There are absolutely no second thoughts about that. In fact, the film is so stylishly presented that it’s almost at par with the original. However, in its attempt to one-up Sleepless Night, the film has ended up imitating the French original quite literally. Thoongaavanam, helmed by Haasan’s erstwhile assistant Rajesh M Selva, doesn’t quite qualify as the actor’s best work so far.

Identity Crisis

Thoongaavanam suffers from an identity crisis in its effort to come close to the original. When Haasan decides to remake a film, one expects the product to be nothing less than excellent. This reminds us of the Kamal Haasan starrer Tamil film Kuruthipunal, which was based on Govind Nihalani’s Drohkaal. Now that is a faithful adaptation. Although Haasan bought the rights to the film, he ensured that both its versions were poles apart.

Thoongaavanam, on the contrary, is neither satisfactory nor excellent. It falls somewhere right in between. Most scenes in the film for instance, have been lifted from the original and have been recreated for the Indian setting, lacking the creative touch that Haasan usually brings to his projects. In one of Sleepless Night’s best scenes, a young boy is kidnapped and held captive in a room with a leaking roof, from which water drips into a champagne bucket placed below. At regular intervals, we get a glimpse of the bucket filling up, highlighting the passage of time. It’s disappointing too see that whole scene being lifted as is in Thoongaavanam, especially when Haasan has taken credit for penning the screenplay. Although the makers were adamant about calling this an adaptation, in reality it’s a frame-by-frame remake.

Kamal Haasan Gives His 100%

The entire film unfolds in a night club, fittingly called Insomnia, and the plot revolves around a missing bag of cocaine and a few ‘grey’ characters. The good thing about the film is Haasan, who is in terrific form and has been consistently reinventing his persona since Vishwaroopam. He no longer plays to the gallery, prefers realistic stunts over exaggerated action blocks and doesn’t mind trading blows with the heroine either. In an outstanding fight sequence, Haasan and Trisha almost knock each other down. She’s terrific and holds her ground against the veteran actor quite confidently.

Thrilling Sound Design

Another highlight of Thoongaavanam is Ghibran’s background score and Kunal Rajan’s sound design. In the kitchen fight sequence, one can hear the crockery breaking with crystal clear clarity. In his fourth collaboration with Haasan, he accentuates the mood of this thriller with his electronic score.

Thoongaavanam is extremely stylish and fairly racy too, but it’s not wholesomely great.