I do concur though that the baliah connection is impertinent.
I think its the same with your defence of thambi - I buy all that he was crazy, slightly mental even - the script had all that but even granting that, maddy was funny there. I think equa wrote earlier bout the say-a-dialogue_distriubte-a-punch routine. Epdi paarthaalum, sirippu dhaan vrudhu.
As you observed in versatile thread, sometimes we credit the actor for trying rather thn chieving.
In NT's case, I feel he was pandering to certain sections of his fans there...