Tholvi FC Movie Review: A heartwarming tale of late bloomers

This family of four lives in a home called Victory Hill, but every member is a failure. Oommen (Sharafudheen) wants to turn its cafe outlet into a chain, but how would a place with zero customers have any chance of flourishing? Kuruvilla (Johny Antony), Oommen's father, loses the money from the joint account of his wife, Shoshamma (Asha Madathil), to a cryptocurrency scam. Meanwhile, a publisher informs Shoshamma that she should stop working on her thriller novel because her drafts are no good. Thambi (George Kora), their second son, is a football coach who can't stand a chance against the opposition team. 

Director: George Kora

Cast: Sharafudheen, Johny Antony, Asha Madathil, George Kora, Poonam Gurung, Meenakshi Raveendran

Tholvi FC is no poverty porn, mind you. It isn't The Pursuit of Happyness either. With an immersive quality that evokes some of the best Hollywood animation films, this film wants to make you feel good, minus the usual inclination to overdose on sugar. If I were to compare it to a cup of coffee, it would be one that initially tastes quite bitter but turns sweet gradually. The degree of bitterness in the film doesn't dampen one's spirits either because actor-director George Kora (Thirike, Njandukalutte Naattil Oridavela) and cinematographer Shyamaprakash S take enough care to ensure that the film maintains a light tone throughout. 

Save for a couple of places where it looks forced, the humour in the film is derived in the most organic fashion, beginning with Johny Antony's Kuruvilla getting kicked out of his own home by his wife Shoshama after he falls for the scam. With no other place to take refuge in, he lands at Oommen's cafe. Sharaf and Johny rise to the challenge to depict the awkward father-son dynamic in a way where the son, now on a higher plane than the father, looks for opportunities to 'avenge' an insulting past episode. 

It goes without saying that Johny is now one of our most reliable actors who, despite playing characters with similar traits in his earlier films, has the gift of not repeating them. Kuruvilla is a picture of anxiety, shamelessness and, eventually, resignedness. Sharaf, on the other hand, ditches the over-top quality of some of his recent comic roles and imparts a slightly serious and brooding quality to Oommen. However, it's not all doom and gloom as Sharaf switches to Oommen's jovial and mischievous side when needed, especially in the closing moments. 

And Asha Madathil needs to be in more movies, preferably those where she gets afforded the necessary dignity and grace as in this film. Shoshamma is a woman of the literature world, but Asha doesn't play her as the stereotypical pretentious intellectual often found in mainstream Malayalam/Indian cinema. She brings a grace and vulnerable presence to her character. 

George Kora's Thambi is a youngster with a steely, unending determination to learn and forge ahead regardless of his humiliating predicament. It got me thinking that if every filmmaker who complains of 'degrading' adopts Thambi's attitude, we might see less drama in the news today.

Tholvi FC refuses to be content with exploring the stories of the above four characters alone. There are others, among which are two sweet and progressive love stories, one already in progress and another about to bloom, involving Oommen (Sharafudheen) and Sharmin (Poonam Gurung), Thambi (George Kora) and Maryam (Meenakshi Raveendran). These are opportunities to convey that some oft-frowned-upon life choices are actually not that big a deal. 

Meenakshi's Maryam is an empowered woman who once made a wrong relationship choice but doesn't dwell on the past. Her warm chemistry with Thambi is a welcome parallel to the Oommen-Sharmin relationship. Lal Krishna's skilful editing brings up some clever match cuts to emphasise the mood similarities in both arcs. 

There is a third subplot involving a child that serves as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of technology, also handled delicately.  

In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, some of these writing choices might have looked awkward and artificial, but Kora incorporates them into the storytelling in a way that avoids such risks. 

You'll find Tholvi FC even more relatable if you are a late bloomer. If you're not, this film will remind you that not every journey has to move at the same pace. Sometimes, it's better to endure the pain of that long wait to accept what is truly right for you instead of hurrying into a decision that you might regret later, just because you were lonely or because you didn't want to disappoint your parents and relatives. Go ahead and disappoint them; ultimately, you have to live with the repercussions of your decisions, not them.