Sangathalaivan - a more perfect union

 

Sangathalaivan

2021, Tamil

Director - Manimaran

Stars - Samuthirakani, Karunas, Ramya Subramanian, Sunu Lakshmi

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

To me, Samuthirakani is an actor for adults.  His characters remain edgy but compassionate, understated but strong.  There is complexity and believability in this, a screen presence which can be seen and felt in Sangathalaivan, in which he plays the calm, fair, but powerful leader of a union of fabric workers in Salem.

To keep this a message film, he is paired with Mr. Karunas, who plays an innocent man whose admiration for the union boss soon puts him as sidekick, and when necessary, acting chief.  There is too much of the nice guy in this character and the predictable plot leads us to very easily conclude his becoming a scapegoat.  It is this predictability that weakens the intent of this film, which is supposed to about the importance of self-sacrifice for the sake of a greater good.  

This message can easily be found in Thirukkural and the poetry of Kannadasan, Bharathiyar, and others. So, why the need for posters of Communist leaders and the donning of red shirts?  Unions can and do exist in democratic societies, too; and indeed, are part of the message of many great spiritual leaders of Tamil Nadu.  

What remains unmistakably bad Tamil movie-making, however, is the need to bring in violence and bloodshed in the second half.  This movie could have remained a drama and perhaps have brought in some courtroom elements to succeed.  Instead, the director turns to the usual cookbook as much as the union boss turns to the Red Book.