Several films based on the life of Chennai dons have been made with varying degrees of success. This time, Vijay R. Anand (former associate of Arun Pandian) has combined the same clich閐 ingredients to create a story that lacks substance.

Thambi Arjuna is yet another template-created mass masala flick with nothing new to attract or entertain. Women have always occupied a prominent place in history; they have made and destroyed many empires. Thambi Arjuna is the tale of a young woman and her lover, who is the brother of a local don. The film features Ramana, Suman, Malayalam actor Feroz Khan and Aashima in pivotal roles. Produced by G.M. Balaji and Manisha Khan, Dheena has scored the music; Madhavraj has taken care of cinematography.

The Plot

The film begins with a flight in which Arjun (Ramana) is returning to India after completing his studies in Australia.

Flashback: Arjun is the brother of Chennai's most powerful local don Dharma. But Dharma (Feroz Khan) is quite different from regular dons; he kills people, smuggles and also conducts katta panchayat, but never disturbs the general public. Dharma never involves his brother in all these dreadful activities. Mani, another don from the opposite camp, is a dreadful person looking for the right opportunity to put an end to Dharma's rule in Chennai.

Arjun saves Radhika (Aashima) in a pub at Bangalore and obviously, it is love at first sight for him. After two months, when Arjun meets Radhika in Chennai, he tries to impress her, but in vain. Now Arjun learns that Radhika is the daughter of Chennai's Police Commissioner Vedagiri (Suman), who is also a good friend of Dharma.

Trouble comes in the form of Gautham (son of the Home minister), who always tries to induce Radhika to come with him. After some initial encounters, loves blossoms between Arjun and Radhika. When Gautham learns of this, he makes a plot to kill Arjun, but fortunately, Dharma intervenes and thrashes Gautham! From here the troubles begin and the problems get bigger. To put an end to all these, Dharma decides to approach the Commissioner about Radhika and Arjun's marriage, but Vedagiri insults them in the most dreadful way. Arjun gets angry and extracts his revenge which leads to a new series of events!

Cut back to present era! When Arjun lands in Chennai, he learns that Dharma and his family have been kidnapped by Mani's man and the brain behind the Kidnap is Police Commissioner Vedagiri. Why did they kidnap Dharma? The reason is Home Minister's son Gautham had already kidnapped Radhika and the Commissioner feels that only Arjun can rescue her! What follows is some thrilling action sequences with an encounter drama!

The Verdict

Overall, the film lacks the X factor. Thambi Arjuna marks the Kollywood debut of Feroz Khan (who has earlier acted in a Malayalam film with Mohanlal), but he looks like an seasoned artist except for the dialogues which bear a Malayalam accent. Ramana and Aashima have played their parts well; Suman looks apt for his role.

But the main culprit seems to be the half baked and totally predictable script.

Thambi Arjuna Photo Gallery

Review by Ambili S.

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