‘Thudarum’ movie review: Mohanlal in top form in a fine film, with minor flaws

Thudarum review: A finely-crafted film with emotional depth, showcasing Mohanlal's versatile acting in a mainstream drama.

Like a beast taking its time in revealing its true nature, Thudarum almost lulls us into a comfortable space with everyday happenings and innocuous humour in its opening passages. When it shifts shape, it does it ever so slightly, over the course of ‘Benz’ Shanmugham (Mohanlal)‘s pursuit to get back his beloved old car, unfairly seized by the police, and during a night journey up the hills, as one feels the tension ramping up. The film then coasts along on this path, while throwing in Shanmugham’s emotional roots at regular intervals, with the car, with a former stunt master and with his family.

With Operation Java and Saudi Vellakka, Tharun Moorthy proved himself as a filmmaker to look forward to, but there was always the apprehension of how he would adapt his approach to a big star. He gets the balance almost right, giving the fans stuff to cheer for without compromising much on what he wants to say, in the way he wants it to be said. Buoyed by a solid story by K.R.Sunil, Tharun gets the right pulse for a mainstream drama. Intelligently woven into the plot is a natural disaster, which turns out to be one of the key elements in a revelation. 

Even when their favourite team makes a habit out of losing every match, fans continue to expectantly watch out for the next, hoping for a hint of a turnaround. In the case of Mohanlal’s fans, it has been quite a long wait, despite there being a few glimpses of his yesteryear glory in some recent films. Thudarum returns to them the actor in all his myriad shades, from the playful to the emotional, in a role which is closer in spirit to the “Mohanlal of the past”. It again proves that what actors like him need are good writers, of which there were plenty in Malayalam cinema in his heyday, rather than huge budgets and over-the-top marketing. The self-deprecating humour, referring to lines from his string of flops, appear to be a nice topping.

The lack of a convincing antagonist with well-written lines and a weighty background story has been sorely left in some recent mainstream films. But, here we have someone who stands on an almost equal footing with the hero, challenging him at every corner and making it seem like a fight which is hard to win. This is one factor which helps Thudarum even when it gets caught in a run-of-the-mill revenge drama plot near the end. One expected the revenge plot to play out with some intelligent turns, rather than the straight up action that is served, although Shanmugham’s past as a stunt choreographer justifies the shift in character. The interval point thus remains the crescendo of the film, a height to which it is unable to reach in the final hour.

The scenes of police brutality, especially against women and children, seem needless as it does not add much to the narrative. A symbolic portrayal would have helped. While most of the supporting cast pay their part well, Shobana gets only a patchily written role, which is relegated to the background most of the time. Prakash Varma and Binu Pappu make the most of the meaty roles that they get.

Thudarum, despite its flaws, is a finely-crafted film with the right emotional beats. The open-ended title, which appears after the actor’s name in the closing credits, in a way hints there is much more left for the actor to do.

Thudarum is currently running in theatres