Thanmathra

I am a big fan of Malayalam movies and off late most of what is churned out is mindless comedy or violence. Blessy's Thanmathra is a well made movie with a good theme. There are several movies on Alzheimer's patients and if you were to hear the theme from someone the response is likely to be, "so what's new? " What makes this movie good are.. Strong actors- Mohanlal, Manu, Jagathy, Meera, Nedumudi; Good direction- Well woven story, seamless progression, good technical knowledge of Alzheimer's.(Loss of recent memory and preservation of past memory. Mohanlal remembers the Sukumaran Nair of his childhood, but not his father- in-law with the same name...Going to his 'Appachy's' house for 'unniappam' etc); Music - Melodious songs, good background score.

The subtitled quote in the end though seemed profound somehow didn't blend well with the end. Could have done without it I think. I strongly recommend watching this movie

"Thanmatra" a beautiful and touching tale of a happy family.In fact why the title "thanmatra" because Director Blessy's previous film Kazcha spoke of an entire society and the crisis it faces during an earthquake and this film thanmatra speaks of a single family a single unit that means a molecule in the eyes of the director. Thanmatra is a beautiful and touching tale of a small but very happy family.The lead cast of Mohanlal,Meera vasudevan( Rules-Pyar ka Superhit formula fame,Unnai Charanadainthein),Nedumani Venu,Jagathy Sreekumar ,Seetha etc...All the performances are strong yet brilliant were the performances of the lead pair of Mohanlal and meera Vasudevan. The film is simple,realistic and down right touching. I will recommend this film to all people who appreciate good cinema.At times i think it is "A Beautiful Mind" what i am watching yet don't take away the credit from Director Blessy as he has created a masterpiece. Mohanlal has given his best performance so far and Meera Vasudevan who only at 23 years of age has convinced all of us that she can play different roles and characters very convincingly.She definitely deserves accolades for the same. Thanmatra-Verdict -Brilliant-Take your entire family and watch it.

The first show started at 10.30. There was no such explosive crowds infront of the theater as for naran. The film started with huge applause and jai's to lalettan. The film shows the correct picture of a normal family in an interesting way. The film started with a small touching sentiment's between lal and his son.And all other scenes were pleasant. But when it began to reach the midst of the film...situations changed... The villain came.."Alzeimers disease"!!!! Then the scenes were out of control. I tried my level best not to cry aloud. In many occasions I closed my eyes for long time....and tears shed. No Lal fans can see the situation of mohanlal at that time

A father who loves his family very much...who need to make his son an IAS officer....who is known as the brilliant father in the son's school...suddenly changed liked a small child who doesn't know even to write or talk...But his wish to make his son an IAS officer was hidden somewhere in his mind... The last scene was a suspense which no lal fans expected...That scene make us completely out of control... In a scene Mohanlal even came out from the office bathroom in only Jetty (underwear). In another scene One man will beat him cruely and he cries like a little child.....When Jagathy and Nedumudy drinks tea, Lal was looking at their tea glass , for giving him also tea.. And many scenes more.....And sure The film will be taken by family audience from tomorrow itself. And the National award is confimed to lal and lal only

Finally comes a movie that makes you laugh, think, cry and above all makes you feel that you didn't waste your time seeing another stupid Malayalam movie. Everything is underplayed here in an era where Malayalam movie makers think that a malayali wants every masala played out loud in Malayalam movies. I agree, they like it in other language movies. But we don't want our movies spoiled. To say that Blessy's direction is excellent will be a gross understatement. He has made a movie close to his heart by defying the box office trends. Once again we are fortunate to see laleettan in full form(Maybe after Narasimham)...with not a bit of acting...like olden days ..just Ramesan Nair..,the character he is portraying..Kudos....I would like to watch the movie again just to see the innocent look on Ramesan's face.

"If you can't compare your wife to another woman, how can you compare your son to another boy?" - the moment Mohanlal pops this question, you know Thanmathra will not just be any malayalam movie. At a time when the industry is ruled by crass comedies, Blessy should be appreciated for taking up such a complex theme in a commercial format, without compromising on artistic values.

Thanmathra is the story of a middle-class family; the very family that stays in a mini two bedroom flat; the very family which uses a Bajaj scooter for transportation; the very father who dreams about his son attaining what he couldn't. In short, it is the family which you can see in your day-to-day life. But what makes the movie special is the craftsmanship that director Blessy shows in extracting the best performance from his cast into what can be called as the ideal script for any artist to prove his skills.

Thanmathra excels in every class. Let it be cast performances or direction or paperwork or music or cinematography or art work or whatever, Thanmathra is perfect. The movie drags a bit in the latter half, but the theme demands the lag and without it the movie would have ended up as a typical TV serial. Mohanlal has come up with one of the strongest performances in Indian Cinema. In real life, people often consider Alzheimers as a variant of madness. Therefore the slightest mistake from the actor can transform an Alzheimers patient to a lunatic. But Mohanlal handled the character carefully. Rameshan, being an Alzheimers patient, forgets everything. But still somewhere in his mind, he knows that he wants to see his son as an IAS Officer, even when he cant recognise his son's face. Such roles are always challenging to any actor but Mohanlal came up with a brilliant, effortless performance, proving any role is only a child's play for him. Debutant Arjun Lal is certainly an excellent actor in the making. Jagathy Sreekumar and Nedumudi Venu have done their parts well. Other than some unsynched lip-movements, Meera Vasudev's performance is top notch.

Once you watch the film, Thanmathra will give you a melancholic feeling. One might wonder why God is so cruel to Rameshan and his family. After all his only dream was to see his son as an IAS officer. And he almost saw it...almost.