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Star Cast: Vismaya Mohanlal, Aashis Joe Antony, Sai Kumar, Manoj K. Jayan
Director: Jude Anthany Joseph
What’s Good: Mohanlal’s Cameo and Music
What’s Bad: Borderline melodramatic performances
Loo Break: Anytime
Watch or Not?: One-time watch
Language: Malayalam
Available On: JioHotstar
Runtime: 137 Minutes
User Rating:
One of the biggest selling points of Thudakkam was the debut of Vismaya Mohanlal. For those unaware, she is the daughter of Malayalam film superstar Mohanlal. In the field of cinema, Mohanlal almost has a God-like image, thanks to his natural charisma and brilliant performances. So, naturally, there was curiosity about Vismaya’s performance on screen. She has largely lived her life away from the limelight despite coming from a top-tier family in cinema.
Vismaya got a power-packed debut at the box office when the film opened in theatres on August 7. The film landed in the top 10 highest-grossing films of the year. Ideally, it is a strong debut film for Vismaya, as it sees her play a confident young woman with plenty of action. Not many female characters get to perform such intense roles at the beginning of their careers. The film centers on an important message about women’s safety, but does it go beyond that?
Thudakkam Movie Review: Script Analysis
The plot is quite straightforward. Meenu is a 26-year-old woman living with her specially-abled father in a house in Idukki. Meenu lost her mother when she was a teenager to a terminal illness. However, her mother’s memories stay with her primarily through music. We see that she is not the brightest when it comes to academics, but she is passionate about teaching. She is introduced as the cheery, happy-go-lucky girl who would greet everyone along the way.
However, one evening, a series of events led her to arrive home late, her phone out of charge. Her worried father files a missing persons complaint. While she reached home safely, a man was following her and attempted to cause her harm. She fights back, but that is just the beginning of her problems.
The man in question is Aashish Joe Antony, a criminal who is known for killing for money and leaving behind no evidence. He is also a pervert who harasses women and even records his activities. Overall, a very dangerous-looking man. However, the character lacks any depth.
Thudakkam Movie Review: Star Performance
The film’s title on posters and even on JioHotstar reads — Vismaya Mohanlal’s Thudakkam. This is truly her film and hers alone. She is the star of the movie and this story. In this attempt, the narrative overlooks its surroundings. Vismaya does a decent job as the happy-go-lucky girl who faces a traumatic incident and then rises from it. However, if you see her off-screen persona in interviews, you may observe that most of her body language comes naturally to her, with only a little acting. However, the actress shone in the action sequences in the climax.
The interesting thing is that when an actor like Mohanlal appears on screen briefly and takes charge, you realize how a brilliant performance can elevate a simple scene. This is not to compare Vismaya with her extremely talented father, who has decades of experience. But Mohanlal‘s cameo at a crucial point in the film makes you think about the power of performance.
Aashish Joe Antony, son of producer Antony Perumbavoor, performed well as the antagonist. He has no dialogue in the film and still manages to be terrifying with just his expressions.
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Thudakkam Movie Review: Direction, Music
Jude Anthany Joseph has shown his brilliance with one of his earlier films, Ohm Shanthi Oshana. More recently, he shifted genres with India’s Oscar selection- 2018, a film based on the devastating Kerala floods of 2018. And now Jude has moved into action drama with Thudakkam. The film is about a woman fighting for her safety and the other girls when she gets attacked by an intruder inside her own home. The incident creates a false perception in her town, leading to her being treated as an outcast. From being a victim, she is viewed as a person with no morals or loose character. While it takes a toll on her, she fights back against her perpetrator.
While the thought seems nice, Thudakkam struggles to rise beyond being a PSA for women to take up martial arts to defend themselves. The film hardly takes the subplots seriously and fails to give depth to the other characters and their narratives. Even with Aashish’s antagonist, we see him killing people in broad daylight with no consequences. At one point, we learn that he is a sharp criminal who evades being caught on CCTV. But in this world of constant surveillance, how is one to get away without getting caught, unless he is a wizard! Such a lack of logic reflects poor writing in the film and a lack of focus on the subplot.
Thudakkam features lovely music by Jakes Bejoy that captures the protagonist’s mood. The song, which serves as an introduction for Vismaya, is quite catchy and easy to hum. However, the background score is not punchy enough and remains underwhelming in the high-octane climax, where our protagonist brutally injures three men, including the one who tried to attack her.
Thudakkam Movie Review: The Last Word
Vismaya Mohanlal’s Thudakkam goes on a predictable route from the beginning. But I went till the end, expecting some more interesting elements to surface, as the film introduces plenty of character, and we hope that there would be more to it. Sadly, that is not the case. Despite that, the film is worth a watch — one that you can watch with your family.
2.5 Stars!
Thudakkam Trailer
Thudakkam is currently streaming on JioHotstar.
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