After a wait that lasted for close to 2 years, the much awaited Rajeev Ravi's "Thuramukham" has finally hit the screens to the relief of the makers. The trailer that had been doing the rounds for quite a while now certainly set a high bar with regard to the expectations, but no one had a clue as to when the movie itself would see the light of day. Eventually, a hurriedly organized press conference revealed that Listin Stephen orchestrated the release of the stalled project which was caught up in a financial & legal mess. Well Rajeev is known for his slow burner lengthy movies that might not necessarily be everyone's cup of tea & this was no different.
Gopan Chidambaram, a noted theatre artist has adapted the screenplay from the play of the same name that his father, KM Chdambaram had penned in 1968. The subject that it primarily touches upon is the struggles of the people of Mattancherry because of the inhuman chappa system at the port, the unscrupulous trade unions that masqueraded as the saviours & eventually the infamous Mattancherry police firing that saw three among them martyred & numerous others missing. At the centre of this plot is a mother (Poornima Indrajith) & her two sons and the changes that the socio-political climate imposes on their lives. The film unfolds in black & white format with the focus being on Maimood (Joju George) who after a while takes on the powerful only to be forced to retreat. The focus then shifts to his sons Moidu (Nivin Pauly) & Hamza (Arjun Ashokan) who end up on opposite sides and how their lives get affected with the turmoil that constantly brewed at the port.
This is Rajeev Ravi's fifth directorial venture and as most of you are aware, it is a filmmaking style that is both raw and steeped in reality with no intentional efforts taken to create a mass vibe unless the script demands so. He builds up the story in such a manner whereby most of the major artists are provided with reasonable screen space & their characters do have something to perform rather than merely for the numbers. His cinematography was fantastic as always especially in those dimly lit scenes where it was a play of silhouettes. He was ably supported by Gokuldas & his team in the art department who did an excellent job. The background score by K oscillated between good to average at times.
However, many of the events that unfold were not necessarily engaging & in combination with the slow pace, it certainly dragged at many sequences (except the portions that involved Joju). Due to this, its 3 h runtime kind of felt tedious and hence they could have trimmed many sequences which still wouldn't have affected the overall movie. Another aspect that I felt could have been handled better was the connect of the audience with the struggles (in the sense, it failed to create angst within us) & the manner in which Nivin's segment concluded. It made sense to be understated, though I felt it could have been handled like Manoj Bajpai's role in "Satya" rather than so tamely.
Most of the artists have done their parts well but the pick of the lot for me was Poornima Indrajith who has done utmost justice to the meaty role that was given to her. She was able to effectively convey the pain & hardships that her character went through without resorting to melodrama. In all probability, she has put herself in pole position for many accolades that are bound to come her way (& maybe even a State Award). Joju was excellent in his brief appearance & his action sequence was one of the highlights as it literally packed a punch (kudos to the stunt choreographers). Nivin was fine & did his part well especially the latter portions where he starts to retaliate along with Arjun Ashokan while Sudev Nair impressed in his younger avatar. As for the rest, Indrajith & Manikandan were ok, Nimisha felt rather repetitive & reminded of "Malik" while Darshana was wasted. In addition, there were many other junior artists who have done their parts aptly.
Verdict: Irrespective of what the box office returns might be, both Rajeev Ravi & Listin Stephen need to be applauded for their efforts on a project reasonably well done. It starts off promisingly but it struggles to sustain our attention or make us empathetic towards the hardships that the people faced. In effect, it falls short of its potential. However, do give it a try mindful of the fact that it will lag quite a bit!!!
Rating: 3/5
Regards...Ben
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