‘Annaatthe’ movie review: Rajinikanth stars in a loud, listless family saga
The Hindu
Rajinikanth’s screen presence is the only highlight in this over-the-top emotional drama
The emotion in Annaatthe is extremely familiar to Tamil cinema. The affection towards a sister - or thangachi sentiment, as it's known in Kollywood - has long attracted the attention of our heroes, from Sivaji Ganesan to Sivakarthikeyan.
And now, Rajinikanth, post a series of experiments like 2.0 and serious subjects such as Kaala, settles down with this familiar sentiment in a milieu that he has not explored in recent times: the quintessential Tamil village.
Kaalaiyan (Rajinikanth) is introduced as a village president of sorts, but his focus and attention is towards his sister, Thangameenakshi (Keerthy Suresh). When she arrives in a train, he ensures that every passenger who travels with her is treated to goodies. When they start looking out for a match for her, he wants the man to be within calling distance. When she thinks of him, he appears. He’s that fond of her.