Thudarum

This one came to the OTT platform quite fast. The making of Thudarum was unnecessarily lengthy, with fillers that served no purpose than to extend the run-time. The film crawled at a slow pace until the intermission, after which the trajectory becomes too predictable as it turns into nothing more than a classic revenge story. All the build-up? Meh. I barely felt connected to any of the characters, or cared for them at all.

However, the direction, the cinematography and the soundtrack are commendable. Mohanlal as Benz, Prakash Varma as CI George, and Binu Pappu as SI Benny are some of the best performances in recent Mollywood. This one is worth a watch for sure-but I reckon just once.

First of all, what an intense performance by Mohanlal, the performer. I'll hop aboard that train and exclaim how much of Thudarum reminds me of some of his other "thrillers" with oodles of sentiment thrown in. Yeah, this ain't no ordinary family drama, like they advertised. After the first act which does a decent job of trolling Lalettan's recent filmography, has a lot of meta references (that non-mallus will struggle to relate with), and sets up his background and family dynamic (his equation with Shobana is still a treat to watch, and Tharun Moorthy made the right casting call there). But boyyyy, do we already know there's more to Shanmughan (or "Benz", as he's lovingly called) than what initially meets the eye.

There's more than enough in the screenplay to make every fan of Mohanlal (the actor, i.e.) leave the cinema halls with a high. And when Benz is matched up against an antagonist like CI George Mathan (played by a freshly cast Prakash Varma), there's no way we wouldn't see Lalettan in BEAST mode, subtly and otherwise. Binu Pappu also rises to the occasion in one of his meanest efforts so far, as SI Benny. The aura around the first 30-40 minutes is one of familial bonding, friendships, and mostly what Benz does for a living. But by the time the credits roll, you'd have forgotten how jolly-good those moments were, and how much has changed in Benz's life since then.

The fight scenes (yes, this has a few) are in the not-bad-not-great category. They have a specific purpose to serve, and not just a means to showcase Mohanlal's massy side. Jakes Bejoy keeps it sweet and toned down in the first half, but goes crazy in the second (..for good reason!). DoP Shaji Kumar effectively uses the landscape of the terrain to convey the core elements of the story, while also giving the Mark-I Ambassador car a distinct persona. The visual effects work is pretty solid, especially the portions depicting a landslide.

On the flip side, I feel there's still work to be done on Tharun Moorthy's end when it comes to dialogue-writing. I'm willing to let that slide this time, given he carried the responsibility of presenting both sides of Lalettan that we all love (switching between 'cute' and 'massy'). As a filmmaker, third time's the charm for Tharun, indeed!

P. S. Good work on the title cards.

I donno how to describe my feelings after watching this movie.

Movie started with laying some emotional attachments and funny family scenes that are entirely different from the actual plot of the movie. First half was nicely done to give an attachment with the characters. It even had many references and comedy scenes inspired from social media.

After the first half script is taking an unexpected turn that no one is gonna predict. Even minute expressions from mohanlal is conveying a lot. Some scenes from police station kinda reminded me of Drishyam. One actor who should be appreciated as much as mohanlal is the antagonist Prakash Varma. He was brilliant and deserves a punch in the face. His mannerisms were top notch and makes every viewer angry without any heavy gimmick.

Director Tharun moorthy is definitely one of the best filmmaker in mollywood right now. His best is yet to come.

I took a leave from my job to watch this movie with just average expectations, the film shocked me from minute 1itself. Brilliant music, story telling, direction, acting, all 10/10 with very little flaws. The film was not at all lagging and was exciting throughout, with quirky one liners from both shobana and mohanlal. The one negative i noticed was the fact that the climax was a bit rushed, but still the film managed to be entertaining thoughout. Good supporting roles from binu pappu, and ali. WELL WORTH THE MONEY. INFACT I MIGHT EVEN GO SEE IT A SECOND TIME

Hats off to tharun moorthy and kr sunil.

Thudarum starts with a warm and feel-good vibe, perfect for a family watch. It was very exciting to see Mohanlal and Shobana sharing the screen again after a long time, and the humour part worked out almost 90% well.

The movie smoothly moves into the main story without any confusion. It catches our attention quickly and makes us think about what could happen next. The small reference jokes here and there also worked nicely, giving us some good laughs.

As the movie goes on, it slowly changes its tone and becomes more serious, making us curious about what is really happening. The interval block was very interesting and left a lot of questions in our minds, which made the second half even more exciting.

In the second half, the background music (BGM) really lifts the screenplay, especially during the emotional scenes. It was a treat to see a different side of Mohanlal after a long time - his performance alone is worth the ticket price.

The songs in the movie are energetic and catchy, and I believe every song will become a hit soon. Though the story is something we have seen many times before, Mohanlal's amazing acting makes it feel fresh and different.

At times, the movie reminded me of Drishyam, especially during scenes where the family faces brutal situations. Even small details like eye movements and camera shots were carefully done.

There are also a few action scenes, and the BGM during those moments was just perfect. Every actor in the movie did a decent job and played their roles nicely.

Overall, Thudarum is a well-made, emotional, and thrilling family movie that is definitely worth a watch!