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Remember those long-form stories from children’s comics where a person overcomes all odds through truth and kindness? Unlike the witty and action-packed regulars, they didn’t excite us much, but the lingering feeling was fuzzy enough to earn them a place there. In his debut film Tourist Family, Abishan Jeevinth designs a character whose adventures could fill a comic strip titled Captain Nallavan – a man who transforms every life he touches. Nothing shakes the goodness in Dharmadas, aka Das (Sasikumar). Not even the controversial fact that he and his family came to India as illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka.
After a sweet opening sequence set in Rameshwaram, Tourist Family places its leading man, his wife Vasanthy (Simran), and their sons Nithu (Mithun Jai Sankar) and Mulli (Kamalesh) in a modest housing society in Chennai. With early support from his brother-in-law Prakash (Yogi Babu), who helps them fabricate documents and spin a few harmless lies, Das begins his job hunt while Vasanthy and the children quietly ease into their new lives.
As he gradually warms up to his jovial landlord, a police officer, and a potential employer, Vasanthy finds companionship in an elderly neighbour. Jeevinth’s film unfolds in a utopia with unimaginably sweet people, and it is this idealism that works in its favour. Bit by bit, Das and his family become irreplaceable members of the community – a diverse neighbourhood with a Punjabi family, a mysterious alcoholic, and a delightful mix of others, all coexisting in perfect harmony. A lot of their problems are imaginary or easily resolvable, but the characters offer Das a chance to be their convenient messiah.
In a more believable parallel universe, the cops are investigating a blast. For odd reasons, they remain fixated on a particular refugee family as the culprits. With its fairy tale logic still in place, Tourist Family avoids delving into larger issues such as national security as it continues romanticizing Das and the family. Is the refugee crisis a simplistic issue? It’s not. Is it impossible to find people with hearts of gold among them? Also not.
With a screenplay (Abishan Jeevinth) that leans heavily on warm human interactions, Tourist Family re-pitches the idea of a sociable way of life. Remember when you’d knock on the neighbour’s door for a cup of milk and leave knowing every little detail about their lives? In the age of 10-minute deliveries and social distancing, this absence of connection pushes urban families into silos of loneliness. As the film shows, sometimes it takes just one person and a sincere effort to build a chosen extended family. The most genuine among the film’s many tearjerking moments are Das’s interactions with his boss and Vasanthy’s with Gunasekhar and his wife. As the family’s secret is revealed to different people at different moments, we witness their courage and how trust forms when one chooses to be authentic.
There are moments when the film slips into embarrassing melodrama, with the church sequence toward the finale being a clear example. Even so, Tourist Family quickly bounces back from these emotional excesses. Sometimes it is the light-hearted writing that stands out, as seen in the playful family brawl, and at other times, it is the straightforward emotional drama that registers an impact. Jeevinth’s film maintains suspense until the final frame, regardless of how believable certain plot points may be. While conservative in its outlook, the film offers a glimpse into modern-day dating and explores the concept of family and unity in a world where such connections are becoming increasingly rare.
As Das, Sasikumar’s comforting presence and poignant expressions add great charm to the story. Simran nails the supportive wife role yet again, and her small gig in ‘Aal Thotta Bhoopathi’ will bring a smile to any millennial who grew up watching her. Mithun Jai Sankar (of Aavesham fame) is an actor to watch, with a screen presence that could rival even seasoned performers. The surprise package is the young Kamalesh, whose hilarious revival of the 2000s hit ‘Mambattiyan’ is one of the film’s highlights. The supporting cast is perfectly handpicked, with M. S. Bhaskar, Bagavathi Perumal, Yogi Babu, and Elango Kumaravel each adding their unique flavour to the plot. Sreeja Ravi shines in a small yet heartbreaking role, and so does Yogalakshmi, who plays Nithu’s potential love interest.
If his debut film is a reflection of his worldview, Abishan Jeevinth envisions human relationships through a lens that is idealistic and almost unreal. In his model world, goodness begets goodness, while the few bad apples, like the Hindi-speaking cop, face inevitable consequences. Tourist Family may not qualify as cerebral cinema, but in an era marked by division and despair, its unapologetic optimism and fairy-tale setting offer a welcome dose of warmth and hope.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
