GK Films Corporation's 'Thoranai' comes few months after the 'Satyam' fiasco of Vishal. A slew of few movies based on the applied formulae paved way for Vishal to become a star and it seems he has decided to go back to his pavilion of commercialism. It should have worked well and good if by chance we were spared from the stereotypes since a long time in our movies.

Starring Vishal and Shriya Saran, debutant directed Saba Iyyapan betting on a dependable plot has made 'Thoranai' as a commercial crass with abundant action, romantic interludes and of course many comedy scenes but all catered for the adults and some for the censors to work with. The film has been simultaneously made in Telugu titled as 'Pista'. In recent times, some of the filmmakers strictly adhere to the formula. Begin with a title song, bring in the heroine for a duet, debut the antagonist, amalgamate fights and two more songs to reach the meticulously contrived climax. And the story? Who cares much about the part anyway; for who wish to know the plot it goes like this.

C. Murugan (Vishal) is a happy-go jolly guy roaming with his friends in the village until his mother (Geetha) goes bed ridden languished by the long lost elder brother of his. She beseeches the younger son to go to Chennai and find him with ultimately no sort of lead except a childhood mark. When Murugan lands in the city he daringly comes forward to be the witness for a murder committed by Guru (Kishore), a local goon. A rival of Guru, Tamizharasan (Prakash Raj) encourages him to be the witness so that he could become the sole gangster of the area. He starts his search for his brother but finds a girl (Shriya) instead and it leads to a romantic union. Later, Murugan that finds Guru is his long lost brother. He fights to defend his brother from the police (Lal) encounter and Tamizharasan to take him back safely to his mom.

Shouldering the entire movie with his macho action and punch dialogues, Vishal is at his usual self in an action hero's role. For a change, he had tried imitating Vijay at times but its best left for the actor to romance in his own style. Shriya is scintillating and sizzling with skimpy costumes throughout the movie. Her lip sync with dialogues is wrong often and after such a growing career in Tamil industry it could be good if she tries to learn the language better. Kishore did a brilliant job in 'Polladhavan' and this time he has shortened screen space that offers little scope to perform. Prakash Raj is once again the loud baddie shouting orders but he charms us with his speaking style even though we have seen it for the nth time.

Manisharma's music is hummable especially in the song 'Vaa Chellam' sung by Udit Narayanan. Background score is meager while other songs are good. Cinematography by Priyan is soothing for the eyes in the song sequences that have vibrant colors to add the pep. In other scenes, the camera moves along with the speed chases and stunts padding the action plot.

Director Saba Iyyapan has churned out a movie to suit Vishal's style in his earlier movies. He hasn't tried to make a mark but rather deliver an entertainer filled with elements to keep us engaged. The task has been achieved to a certain extent as the predictability makes it easier to keep guessing what we can expect next. Galore of punch dialogues over flow with both the protagonist and antagonist slashing back-to-back punches in almost every scene in the second half which is simply tiring. And also the abounding level of adult comedies could have been kept under control and even after censor's exceptional cuts some has managed to pass the filtering. Supporting cast Sandhanam, Pandiarajan, Mayil Saamy, Paravai Muniamma have tried their best to tickle us. It does if not every time. Watching some of Vishal's earlier films and 'Thoranai' wouldn't make much of a difference except the release dates.

'Thoranai' is made based on the run-of-the-mill commercial path but it's high time for a change as there is enough of such masala plots in the past and our audience sure deserve more quality cinema.

Pros

Visuals, stunt Scenes, Shriya's glamor

Cons

Everything else

Verdict: One more arrival in the list of formula films