Eeswaran - We are family

 

Eeswaran

Tamil, 2021

Directed by Suseenthiran

Stars Silambarasan, Bharathiraja, Munishkanth, Stunt Siva, Nidhdhi Agerwal, Nanidita Swetha

Mohan's measure ⭐

It is the formula for what usually becomes a mega-hit Telugu film.  A narcistic but well-meaning hero returns to his native village so that he can reunite his family.  There he befriends his aging but wise grandfather, romances more than one of his village belle cousins, and proceeds to deal with a bad guy who, for reasons never fully explained, wants to kill the family.  All the while, a set of wastrel brother-in-laws provide comedy relief.

All this is fine, and expected, unless the movie is a Tamil one.  Once again using the picturesque rural settings around Theni, Eeswaran uses Covid as the reason for a dysfunctional family to come together, such that they can be rescued by aforementioned over-the-top hero while he romances two eye-candy heroines. Indeed, the heroines are on the screen less than the opening credits.

The Tamil-ness to the story are images of Tamil gods, and references to Tamil pride.  All else resembles every big name Telugu movie for reasons not at all coincidental.