Last Friday, "L2: Empuraan" hit the OTT platform after a thumping run at the box office which saw the makers earn in the range of about 360C inclusive of all deals. In the meantime, there has been quite a few releases over the past fortnight during the Easter/Vishu weekend. However, this opinion piece is not about those movies (which I will pen over the next week or so) but rather about Tharun Moorthy's "Thudarum". To be honest, I have been eagerly waiting for its release as I was impressed with his previous releases & hence I was curious to know as to how effectively he would be able to utilise the caliber of a legend like Lalettan.
The movie unfolds in Ranni where Shanmugham aka Benz (Lalettan), led a peaceful life with his wife, Lalitha (Shobhana) & their two children. He was a former stunt man who presently plied his trade as a driver albeit without proper permits in his beloved vintage Ambassador car. Things took a turn when he went to attend the funeral of his former boss as his car was seized by the police as part of an investigation. What subsequently follows are his efforts to retrieve the car.
K R Sunil is a name that most of us may not know unless one is into photography as he is quite accomplished at it & with his debut effort as a script writer, he has proved that his skill with the pen was in no way inferior to his frames. On paper, it comes across as a standard revenge drama but the screenplay that he had penned in the company of Tharun made sure that it had all the elements that interested the audience & excited the fans. The first half had the self deprecating humour and quite a few light moments that kept us in good spirits. But subsequently, there was a marked shift in tone with emotional and action sequences taking centre stage.
The characters were well etched be it Lalettan, Prakash Varma or Binu Pappan, with the major positive being the emphasis given to the latter two characters i.e. the antagonists. More often than not, the makers tend to forget that the antagonist has to be portrayed equally strong to ensure that the impact of the protagonist is celebrated even more. Over here, Tharun & Sunil didn't make that mistake & also included some interesting events such as the landslide etc., as relevant to the plot. On the whole, certain scenes and its treatment reminds us of flicks like "Bhramaram", "Drishyam" , "Oppam" etc., but it still has an identity of its own. Another major positive was Jakes Bejoy's music which elevated many of the sequences and the choice of specific instruments for the main characters was impressive. As for the visuals by Shaji Kumar and editing by the late Nishadh Yusuf & Shafeeque V B, both aspects were neatly done.
It's been a while since we came across a movie that celebrated the actor in Lalettan & this one ticks most of the boxes in that respect. He is given the opportunity to showcase a myriad of emotions which kept us invested in the story. Prakash Varma is a doyen in the ad world & he was absolutely brilliant as CI George Sir with his mild yet intimidating manner of dialogue delivery. Binu Pappan was impressive as well while Shobhana manages to score in the latter half especially when it came to certain expressions. But on the whole, she didnt come across as endearing as I had expected. The rest of the cast such as Thomas Mathew, Farhaan Faasil etc were fine in their parts.
Verdict: Undoubtedly, the most wholesome Lalettan movie that we have seen in quite a while. It just goes to show that in the hands of a talented film maker and a credible storyline, the legend will continue to shine. In short, do check it out!!!
Rating: 3.75/5
Regards...Ben
No comments:
Post a Comment