Tughlaq Durbar review: A flawed yet hilarious political satire

Tughlaq Durbar

Tamil (Netflix)

Director: Delhiprasad Deenadayalan

Cast: R Parthiban, Vijay Sethupathi, Rashi Khanna, Manjima Mohan

Rating: 3/5

Before he aced several complex characters, Vijay Sethupathi grew popular doing small-scale, humorous films helmed by newcomers. The actor pulled of various shades in such films with his dry sense of humour. ‘Tughlaq Durbar’ is right up his alley.

Sethupathi plays Singaravelan, a die-hard political aspirant. He uses his shrewd brain to win the trust of powerful politician Rayappan (Parthiban). He is ready to go any lengths to be his area’s councillor but destiny has other plans. Singaravelan develops a conscience following a brawl at a party.

The film becomes a rollercoaster ride driven by the good and bad side of the protagonist. Sethupathi is hilarious with his mannerisms and expressions. Karunakaran and Parthiban match the effortless comedy of Sethupathi. The trio anchors the first-half with great laughs.

‘Tughlaq Durbar’ loses steam in the second-half because director Delhiprasad Deenadayalan is quite undecided about his approach. On one hand, ‘Tughlaq Durbar’ feels like a focused and content-oriented film. On the other hand, it takes the avatar of a star-vehicle.

Sethupathi get a ‘hero-introduction scene’. He fights the baddies and shakes his leg multiple times. Action and songs derail the film’s flow. Singaravelan’s sister (Manjima Mohan) and love interest (Rashi Khanna) are just low-value pawns. A better screenplay could have made this a much better movie than it is now.

The film also doesn’t end strongly but it has a fantastic final scene involving Sethupathi and Sathyaraj. It’s rip-roaringly funny. This and the engaging first-half marked by fine performances make ‘Tughlaq Durbar’ an entertaining watch.