Tourist Family review: Sasikumar and Simran's family drama delivers a beautiful tale of love and kindness

Tamil-language film Tourist Family serves as a feel-good family drama. Amid an action and mystery thriller world, this film delivers light-hearted comedy with the perfect blend of empathy, kindness, and love. Tourist Family is a story of a Sri Lankan family who lands up in Rameshwaram, only to get noticed by cops. A conversation between one of the couple’s kid and a police officer brings a turn in this heartwarming story.

Plot of Tourist Family

In the backdrop of rising inflation in Sri Lanka, a family of four consisting of Dharmadas, his wife Vasanthi, and their two kids Nithushan and Muli, flee the country and illegally enter into Rameshwaram with the help of their relative Prakash. But, on the way they get caught, and all are put into the police van to get deported back to Sri Lanka.

One of Dharmadas’ kid puzzles everyone by taking out a dog and cracking a conversation with the police inspector. After an emotional talk, and a bonding over the name 'Akash', the inspector has a change of heart and later drops them in the middle of the road to continue their journey.

Then to mask their identities as Sri Lankans, the family is introduced in the locality as Malayalis. They find a home in Kesava Nagar Colony, which interestingly belongs to the local inspector named Raghavan. Just as everything seems to settle down, a bomb blast shakes the city, which is blamed on the Sri Lankans. The story later follows up with a string of suspicion, survival, and one's self-worth and self-dignity.

Performances, direction of Tourist Family

There is no singular protagonist in this story. The whole cast has individual contributions to this film. Each character forms an integral part of the whole story. When watching this film, deep down you would get that fuzzy feeling, like a lump getting struck in the throat.

At the same time, seeing the family trying to thrive after fleeing their homeland will make you smile and feel emotional. At one point, you will question yourself while watching, as to why Dharmadas (played by Sasikumar) is so generous and kind-hearted, but as the film progresses, you will get key details. Sasikumar's grounded performance with kindness and humility strikes the right chord. While Vasanthi, played by Simran, perfectly guides her role as a mother.

One character who steals the scenes with his brilliant on-point acting is Kamalesh Jagan, who plays the role of young Mulli. The young kid has a good screen presence and perfect comic timing. Yogi Babu, who plays the role of Prakash, makes his mark in the film as well.

Director Abishan Jeevinth has managed to touch viewers' hearts with sincere storytelling, even showcasing many emotional moments and feel-good moments. This family drama will leave you smiling with moist eyes. With his direction, one can resonate with the reality of the world, be it survival and taking responsibility.

What did not work in the film?

Unfortunately, no matter how much the film make you feel warm and fuzzy, it has flaws too. Despite giving one of the best plots and performances in recent times, Tourist Family in some scenes does fall flat. Although it's a feel-good film, it could have done with more laughs. Adding emotional moments and humor together becomes a bit dark. For instance, sometimes when a new scene unfolds, the director packs it with a funny setup.

Tourist Family stars Mithun Jai Sankar, M Sasikumar, Ramesh Thilak, Sreeja Ravi, Simran, Kamalesh Jagan, Yogi Babu, MS Bhaskar, Bhagavathi Perumal, and Elango Kumaravel among others.

Tourist Family is produced by MRP Entertainment and Million Dollar Studio. The music is composed by Sean Rolan, cinematography by Aravind Viswanathan, and editing by Barath Vikraman. It was released in cinemas on May 1, 2025, and has premiered on OTT platform JioHotstar in Hindi dubbed version on June 2.