Thuramukham

Thuramukham is a movie that portrays the struggles of the working class in a realistic manner.

However, where the movie falls short is in its storytelling. The narrative lacks interesting twists and turns and feels more like a documentary than a feature film. The pacing is slow and at times, the movie feels like it's dragging on.

Overall, while Thuramukham has its merits in terms of its depiction of the harsh realities of life and its commendable performances, it fails to engage the audience throughout its runtime. The movie could have benefited from a tighter script and better pacing.

Better than kuttavum sikshayum.

I enjoyed the slow and definitive approach to story telling that the movie has adopted. While there is so much to say, the slow and detailed presentation let the content sink in.

Joju George started the movie off on an excellent footing. Remarkable charisma, acting. Most of the prologue section is shot at night. Excellent camera work.

Nivin Pauly came in after the titles, and there was a slight dip from the standard that Joju had set. Nivin has some limitations in his acting abilities, and while there were a few scenes where the limitations surfaced, there were many that were pleasantly perfect.

Music and lyrics work have been excellent. There is a unique story telling style that Rajeev has adopted in this movie, the scores have aligned very well with that, and there are many remarkable songs with high quality experimentations.

There is a genuineness to the character portrayals. Cinema heroes have a way of being at the right place at the right time, with all the necessary knowledge and skills, and a win-at-anything. Characterizatons in Thuramukham were a welcome contrast and felt very genuine.

Arjun Ashokan has done excellent work as the timid younger brother, with a subdued revolution within him. Played out a lot of undercurrents extremely well.

Many other faces from various Rajeev Ravi movies show up and they have all done excellent work.

Cinematography is excellent. Revolt shots, closeups. Right framing for the right purpose. The movie felt like a master class in cinematography.

Action scenes were stunt directed very well, and felt very realistic. There are a bunch of action scenes, and each one was done well.

The intense emotions in the closeups of so many actors in the crowd scenes were all remarkable.

Script is amazing. There are certain moments that are poetic. There is a shot where Nimisha suddenly wakes up from her sleep and goes back. The context in which that was written was very beautiful.

It is a movie that needs multiple viewings.

It is a slow, drawn out movie, which takes time to tell you what it needs to tell you.

I really wanted to love Thuramukham (The Harbor) for it has a lot of things I generally love in cinema. A hard-hitting intro set in period and monochrome, the old ways of doing things (pre-Independence and immediate post-independence India), poverty, slow-burning plot, and lifelike performances. Yet with all that heavy load, it falters somewhere around the midway as if the makers had lost strength after all that heavylifting. Thuramukham is a film in the "what could have been" category had it evolved out of its documentary-like filmmaking and given a redeeming factor to its characters. As it stands now, the climax makes it feel like all that heavy load was for nothing. I still feel there's a good film hidden inside Thuramukham, and hence is a required viewing.

The script of the movie was poorly written and confusing, particularly during the climax. It was difficult to understand what was happening, even if the writers were attempting to convey something meaningful about the chaapa labor system and the associated protests. Unfortunately, the writers chose to focus on a monotonous story that failed to engage the audience from beginning to end.

Despite the weak script, the actors delivered strong performances, with Poornima Indrajith standing out in particular. She played her role exceptionally well and showed a side of herself that had not been seen in any of her previous movies. Credit goes to the director for recognizing her hidden potential and bringing it out on screen.

However, the slow-paced storyline and unremarkable background music made the movie a disappointment overall. It had the potential to be a great movie, but the weak script and lackluster execution failed to do justice to the talents of the actors.

After watching Rajeev Ravi's long-delayed Thuramukham, I begin to wonder whether Gopan Chidambaran's script was intentionally stripped off its commercial elements and high moments, or if it was entirely the director's vision (or choice) to deliver a straightforward, realistic account of the harbor workers protest in the '50s. Whatever the case may be, Thuramukham ends up feeling half-baked. By placing its focus on Nivin Pauly's anti-hero Moidu, the screenplay dangles on slippery ground. The protagonist here is clearly Moidu's brother Hamza (Arjun Ashokan, who puts up a good show) but the writing lends him the short end of the stick. As for the unhinged, two-minded Moidu, the arc is all over the place. The cold sibling rivalry in the film is thematically similar to Chidambaran's earlier screenplay for Amal Neerad's Iyobinte Pusthakam, but that film had greater commercial inclinations, which also made it supremely enjoyable.

Thuramukham's best stretch is indeed the black & white opening act featuring Joju George, Sudev Nair, and Poornima Indrajith. When the story fast-forwards to the adulthood of Moidu and Hamza, in addition to building tedious reasons for the workers protest to gain steam, the film restrains from offering anything exciting. The performances from the ensemble remain solid throughout, but the flaccid plot developments and the lack of coherence in the treatment of Pauly's character bring the film down several notches. Additionally, the songs and the score felt so one-note (this is coming from someone who relished K's work in Kammatipaadam) and the random fade-outs in several important scenes almost took me out of the story.