Thandel

Naga Chaitanya has been struggling with a string of flops and desperately needed a solid hit. When he announced Thandel with Geetha Arts, it immediately created a buzz. A film backed by prestigious producers like Allu Aravind and Bunny Vasu is usually a sign that there's something special about it. The film stars Sai Pallavi, who previously acted with Naga Chaitanya in Love Story, a blockbuster. With music by Devi Sri Prasad and direction by Chandoo Mondeti, the film had all the makings of a big success. Plus, the team took over a year to complete it.

Adding to the intrigue, Thandel is based on real incidents about Indian fishermen captured by Pakistani soldiers and the struggles they and their families faced before their release.

I liked the movie. At first, I wondered why Sai Pallavi always ends up in emotional roles where she has to cry a lot. But as the story progressed, I got invested and felt satisfied by the end. One refreshing aspect was that the lead pair was already deeply in love when the movie began. Most films spend too much time on the hero's journey to win over the heroine, but here, the love story was already established. That allowed the narrative to focus more on what happens after their relationship is tested.

Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi are a hit pair. They complement each other with stellar performances. The pre-interval conflict was done exceptionally well-many will relate to it. There's a moment where the female lead refuses to talk to the hero, and no matter what he does, she sticks to her decision. Naga Chaitanya's performance in this sequence is superb, perfectly capturing the frustration and pain of not being able to communicate with his lover. Sai Pallavi, as always, is fantastic.

The second half is well-executed, showcasing real political incidents from that time and how they affected the captured fishermen. One aspect I appreciated was the portrayal of the Pakistani jailer. Rather than making him a stereotypical villain, they showed him as a man simply doing his duty while understanding that the fishermen were innocent. It was refreshing to see this nuanced take-despite the India-Pakistan rivalry, regular people on both sides don't necessarily hate each other. Of course, the film does highlight extremists who despise India, adding moments of tension. One particular jail scene was quite uncomfortable to watch. I won't spoil it, but I think it was necessary to add emotional weight.

Thandel is a commendable attempt at telling a real-life-inspired story. The background score by Devi Sri Prasad is excellent, especially the signature theme used to showcase the love between the lead pair. Performance-wise, as mentioned earlier, Naga Chaitanya did a great job. With his long hair and beard, he looked like a rustic fisherman and convincingly portrayed a lover deeply in love while also emerging as a leader (Thandel means leader) for his fellow fishermen.

I particularly liked one supporting character who wanted to marry Sai Pallavi-his role was well-written. The rest of the cast was good, but some didn't quite fit as fishermen, and their accents felt off. Given that the team took a year to make this film, they could have provided better training to make the accents more authentic. Cinematography and art direction were solid. As for the director, Chandoo Mondeti surprised me. I didn't expect him to handle a love story so well while also delivering strong emotions.

Sai Pallavi's role felt tailor-made for her, and she did full justice to it. The opening sequence felt like it was edited to create a hook, but later, the director introduced Sai Pallavi as if we were seeing her for the first time, which felt a bit inconsistent.

You should give this film a try.