Oru Thavaru Seidhal Movie Review: This political satire with a flimsy premise stretches itself too far

Director Mani Dhamodharan’s Oru Thavaru Seidhal is a political satire that revolves around a group of unemployed youth in Chennai. The film begins with images of the homeless asleep in public places. Soon, it shifts focus to the main cast, who face a similar issue, as their landlord kicks them out of their rental house. This is a film that has a lot to say about unemployed youngsters, power-hungry politicians, and people who use their voting powers irresponsibly. But the longer the film runs, the flimsier it becomes. It is at best a short film, but Mani extends it so much that it loses all its potency.

Director: Mani Dhamodharan

Cast: MS Bhaskar, Ramchandran, Upasana RC, Paari, Srithar, Namo Narayan

There is hardly any plot in Oru Thavaru Seidhal. The little plot it does have revolves around the aforementioned youth and their quest to launch a smear campaign against a politician so that they can sell it to one of his rivals. The entire film shows how the gang goes about realising this idea. The gang creates a shoddy fake video and simply circulates it through the internet. At one point, one of the gang members asks their de facto leader (Paari Vasan) whether people would believe in its authenticity. However, everyone from the public to politicians, buys into a video that looks obviously fake, with unflinching acceptance.

At a time when AI-generated videos have become a common topic of discussion, the ideas in Oru Thavaru Seidhal such as morphing and fake WhatsApp messages seem a bit archaic. It is ultimately up to the filmmaker to sell it and make it believable. However, the film fails in this regard. Why not make the idea of social media being a weapon in the wrong hands, more interesting, with a phenomenon that seems more relevant for the times, such as rage farming? Then, we would have a film.

Even the non-political portions are cringeworthy. For instance, one of the gang members is a woman (Upasana RC) who appears in the film in shorts and tights. There is no problem with that appearance. However, for some reason, her looks only paves the way for some crass, double-meaning jokes. The male gaze is sickening, to say the least, and it is not like she does not realise it. She speaks out against objectification, like when she stands up to a police officer who humiliates her. Subsequently, there is a speech from Upasana’s character about what it means to be an independent woman in Chennai. But then, what the film goes on to do with her is in stark contrast to the values she stands for as a woman.

MS Bhaskar occasionally leaves some impact with his comic timing, but the film never really uses the full range of his talents. The film makes a joke out of its unemployed youth characters as well. As for the ones with a job, such as a doctor, it suggests that they have no code of ethics when it comes to voting and that they would be easily swayed by money. It is not that the makers generalise the idea, but still, what a premise to peddle in an election year!