Radikaa Sarathkumar's latest rural comedy, Thaai Kizhavi, has fared well across its first weekend, with nearly a 20 per cent jump in collections from Saturday. On Sunday, the film reportedly earned Rs 6 crore (as per Sacnilk.com), taking the total to Rs 13.65 crore. On the day of release, the film opened with just Rs 2.65 crore, only for it to increase by nearly 88 per cent on Saturday with Rs 5 crore. While the growth on Sunday is moderate, the film's weekend collections are inching towards Rs 15 crore.
As per the film's makers, the film has earned around $150,000 gross in North America. On Saturday, the second day of the film's release, nearly 152,000 tickets were sold on BookMyShow alone, as per the makers.
Directed by debutant Sivakumar Murugesan, Thaai Kizhavi revolves around Pavunuthaayi, played by Radikaa, a recently widowed woman who finds herself at the centre of a property dispute after her husband’s death. Determined not to part with her wealth, she stands her ground against her sons. When she later becomes bedridden, her cryptic gestures spark chaos among her family and the villagers, all scrambling to decode the mystery surrounding her hidden assets.
In its review, CE noted, “While Radikaa appears for just over 30-40 minutes of this 140-minute film, her presence looms over every single moment. But when she goes missing in action, Sivakumar not just uses the characters and their machinations to a ‘T’, he showcases an immense grasp of creating moments and hitting us with one comic punch after another. In this endeavour, he is not only aided by his excellent cast but also by his choice of songs, courtesy of Kamal Haasan’s films.”
Apart from Radikaa Sarathkumar, the film features an ensemble cast including Singam Puli, Arul Doss, Munishkanth, Bala Saravanan, Ilavarasu, Muthukumar, George Maryan, and Raichal Rabecca. The film is backed by Sudhan Sundaram’s Passion Studios and Sivakarthikeyan’s SK Productions. Thaai Kizhavi has music composed by Nivas K Prasanna, cinematography by Vivek Vijayakumar, and editing by San Lokesh.
