It seems that A.L. Raja, director of Theekuchi was inspired to make a film like Gentleman as his debut film. Gentleman, Theekuchi and Sivaji deal with reforming our education system, but, the clarity that Shankar's films had is much more. Tackling an appreciable theme of commercialization of education, Theekuchi has its heart in its right place but a script that is not too strong makes the film less than outstanding.
The story goes likes this. A rowdy (Ashish Vidyarthi) and an Education Minister ('Kadhal' Dhandapani) decide that the best way to get rich is by promoting a private engineering college. For this, they kill Bhanupriya on whose land they plan to build their college. Incidentally, Bhanupriya had plans to construct a school for the poor on that very land. Now, Bhanupriya's son Shakthi (Jaivarma) is out to revenge his mother's death.
Meanwhile, the minister and his cohort have turned incredibly rich by forcing students to shell out lakhs as capitation fees. Students who refuse to pay such fees are eliminated. Shakthi is helped by his friends and lover (debutant Mythriya), the rowdy's daughter. How the hero and his friends triumph and reform the educational system forms the rest of the story.
Jaivarma as Shakthi has a good physique. He fights and dances well but the youngster should try to improve his emoting skills. If he does so, Jaivarma will turn out to be an actor to reckon with in Kollywood. Heroine Menakai, who hails from Karnataka, is hot and adds glamour. Ashish Vidyarthi as the villain performs well but is let down by his clichéd character.
Vadivelu's comedy track is but a rehash of his earlier attempts. Bhanupriya in her brief role steals the show and earns our sympathy. Yesteryear actor S.S. Rajendran appears in a guest role and proves why he is still considered a legend.
On the technical front, Srikanth Deva's music is too loud, though two songs are hummable. Director Raja's intentions are noble, but it is the presentation that has to be worked upon. If the director had concentrated more on the script, Theekuchi could have turned out to be another Gentleman.
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