Tughlaq Durbar Movie Review

Vijay Sethupathi’s Tuglaq Durbar is all set for worldwide premiere on Sun TV tomorrow (September 10, 2021) followed by an OTT release on Netflix (September 11, 2021). The film is directed by debutant Delhi Prasad and is produced by S.S. Lalit Kumar of Screen Scene Entertainment.

The story opens with a local politician (Radhakrishnan Parthipan) exhibiting his oratory skills amidst the crowd, where a pregnant lady screams out of labor pain. The voice-over that indicates, ‘Ivan Porakkumpodhey 10 peroda Veshtiya Uruvittu thaan porandhan’ as the visuals show the dhotis of men being used as the screen for the lady to deliver her baby. The smart-minded Singaravelan aka Singam is named by the politician. As he grows up, Singaravelan manages to push the leading members of the party and finally combatting the mastermind (Bagavathi Perumal) himself to hold an important position next to the stature of Rayappan. However, the story takes a turn when Bagavathi Perumal hits the protagonist with a bottle that brings in a sort of split personality in him. So, here begins the tug of war between the winking goodie and the pre-existing smartass avatars of Singam.

The specialty of Tuglaq Durbar is the significance of the title and its relevance with the plot, where the central character keeps changing the motto that confuses everyone around him. When you watch Vijay Sethupathi perform it, it loudly appeals like a tailor-made role for the actor. The screen presence of Vintage Vijay Sethupathi, who drew millions of fans overnight with his natural-hilarious performance in boy-to-next-door avatars in Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara, Soodhu Kavvvum panache.

If you’re keenly looking out for a scene that justifies this factor, it’s the episode involving a dog that the protagonist hates, and his contrastive nature of letting it sleep beside him brings up the hilarious quotient. Similarly, the scene where Vijay Sethupathi hides the big money that Parthipan gave and later he searches for it is yet another illustration of his trademark performance. Radhakrishnan Parthipan on the counterpart delivers an amazing performance. The dialogues playing a pivotal element let both the actors score big points as they are famous for their dialogue deliveries.

When it comes to others in the star cast, everyone has got prominent characterizations. Karunakaran gets a decent role. Bhagavathi Perumal is groovy. The arrival of Sathyaraj by the end resembling Ammavasai 2.0 factors is a good one. Manjima Mohan as Vijay Sethupathi’s sister gets a decorous scope and Raashi Khanna appears just as a lover girl.

When you have got the name of Govind Vasantha tagged to the brand Vijay Sethupathi, you become nostalgic of 96. However, this isn’t a musical genre, and it’s the narrative part that dominates the technical. There aren’t many minuses in the story. Director Delhiprasad Deenadayal’s ability to finish the climax without action sequences (which otherwise would have been a routine potboiler) and replacing them with conversational strokes is a good attempt. In fact, it contributes to a good ending. Especially with the characterization of ‘Singaravelan’ retaining in minds after the show, the final hint for Part 2 does evoke the curiosities, ‘What If?” Producer Lalit’s conviction about the script works out well.