Padai Thalaivan Review: Man And Animal's Bond Or Hero As A Saviour? AI Cameo Of Vijayakanth, More

Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami, a.k.a Vijayakanth's son, Shanmuga Pandian made his comeback with the movie, Padai Thalaivan after the former's demise back in 2023. The movie has received several ratings all over, while, in Kollywood, it bagged 3.4 on a scale of 5, in BookMyShow, 154 votes summed up to 7.4 on a scale of 10. While the movie's first half grabbed the attention, the second half altogether made the plot a bit confusing. So, without further ado, let's have a look at the review of Padai Thalaivan.

Review of Shanmuga Pandian's film, Padai Thalaivan

Shanmuga Pandian's acting skills have won hearts, and the action-packed entertainer, Padai Thalaivan carved a space in the hearts of the audience. Shanmuga Pandian's film could have been more entertaining if he would have been essayed as his late father Vijaykanth, but it rather began with one of the grounded plots in the first half, which showcased a man's bond with his elephant. The film begins with the background of a forest in Odisha, introducing a cruel priest of a village who tortures the villagers. The movie then moves forward to Pollachi, introducing the protagonist, 'Velu' and the elephant 'Manian'.

'Velu', played by Shanmuga Pandian, faced financial crunches, and due to the same, he had to rent his elephant for several functions and events. Things turned upside down as the villagers seized the elephant and made him disappear. Following this began the main plot, which revolved around what happened to 'Velu' and 'Manian' later. The first half worked really well, and the emotional build-up happened when the forest officials mistreated the elephant.

Along with it, what worked well was the way 'Velu' didn't turn into a mass hero too quickly. While the first half of the movie is closely intact and taps into human emotions of struggles, bonds, and more, the second half lagged the same. During the second half, 'Velu' reached Odisha, that too, with a foggy reason, leaving the audience wondering what made him go there.

What seemed confusing was the swift shift from the 'Velu-Manian' bond to the village rescue plot. Atop it, the AI-generated cameo of Vijayakanth felt loosely formed. The first and second halves deal with seemingly different plots, which leaves the audience in utter confusion. Padai Thalaivan began with a man and animal bond and suddenly became a hero who saved the villagers, and that ended up making it fail to reach the peak of the expectations.

Cast of Padai Thalaivan

Made on a medium-high-budget, Padai Thalaivan features Shanmuga Pandian as 'Velu', Vijayakanth's AI-cameo as 'Professor Ramanaa', Kasthuri Raja as 'Velu's father', and Yamini Chander is seen as the lead actress. Some other cast members are Munishkanth, Rishi Rithvik, A. Venkatesh, Yugi Sethu, Sreejith Ravi, Aruldoss, Logu NPKS, and Karudan Ram. Each of the cast members played significant roles in the movie, while Shanmuga Pandian's acting mettle has been highly praised, but the AI-generated cameo still remains in question.

X reviews Padai Thalaivan

While Shanmuga Pandian's role was praised by all, the plot was not convincing to the audience, and they gave low ratings to the movie. One user on X wrote, "An elephant, a legacy cameo, and a rural setup—but it’s all weighed down by an outdated plot & a messy second half. #Shanmughapandian tries mass, but the soul goes missing." Another user penned, "#Padaithalaivan - Shanmuga Pandian is convincing as hero. But the director absolutely let this golden opportunity be wasted!"

What do you think about Padai Thalaivan's plot and the acting of the cast, mainly of the leads?

Also Read: Meet Anirudh Ravichander, Music Composer, Rajinikanth's Nephew, Might Marry SRH CEO, Kavya Maran?

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Get App

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Choose your device Android or IOS (Apple)