A fight to settle scores? A fight to make up? A fight as solidarity for a friend? A fight for the heck of it ? A fight to make friends? A fight to feel good? A fight for the sake of a fight ? #Thallumaala on #Netflix is all that and more!
If you thought South Indian cinema in general and Malayalam movies in particular were at the top of the game, here comes an offering that truly raises the bar and how! Director #KhalidRahman who has in the past given us gems like #Unda, #Love and #AnuragaKarikkinVellam now brings us an action comedy (What was that again??!!) that floors you with its unique concept, non-linear and frenetic editing and stylization that is simply a world apart!
Right in the beginning of the film, Waseem (#TovinoThomas in an exemplary performance) reflects “I don't know where it all started…”. And as you sit through the film, you keep wondering if you are at the beginning or the end. The film focuses on a group fighting at what is supposedly the wedding of Waseem with Beepathu (#KalyaniPriyadarshan), a social influencer and the narrative is all about unraveling what actually happened. A lot of fights, action, comedy and comic book graphics later, you also realize that how it happened is not as important as what happened.
The costumes, the video-game like graphics and the art makes it a veritable visual treat. #TovinoThomas is loveable as the protagonist and #KalyaniPriyadarshan leaves an impact. The fight scenes are superbly choreographed and the mappilapattu sequences are glamorized as no other contemporary film has done!
The chaotic script is penned by #AshrafHamza and #MuhsinParari. In between all the fun and fights is a sequence that makes you reflect on the currency that makes the current generation go around - social media. In a college function, one of the older dignitaries questions Waseem on his entitlement to being on stage apart from the notoriety that he has managed on account of a fist fight gone viral. Waseem takes over the mike and riles up the audience but never actually addresses the question!
#LukmanAvaran was brilliant in #Unda and here he sets the score blazing with a power packed performance ; someone to really look forward to. Then there is a very competent supporting cast with #AdhriJose, #AustinDan, #SwatiDasPrabhu, #Gokulan and #BinuPappu. #ShineTomChacko shines in his role as a trigger-happy cop. #JohnuAntony plays Waseem’s father and is his characteristic self. Full marks to the casting team on this one.
#JimshiKhalid handles the camera work . Music by #VishnuVijay and costumes by #MasharHamza are top notch.
One could dismiss off #Thallumaala as a teen caper with lot of style and little substance or even an Instagram reel extended into a feature film; i found it standing apart for the sheer boldness of the color palette, chapter titles, brilliant graphics and the furious editing style. Scenes freeze into still photographs, then dissolve into yet another fist fight, things fall into a wash basin and are sucked into another scene where a melee breaks into a jig, a broken tooth flies towards the audience and a news animation acts as the binding glue between two parallel narratives. Watch #Thallumaala for the sheer brilliance of the creative work and the technical finesse of a product that will surely inspire tons of new work !
