Thudakkam Movie Review:
If his filmography so far is anything to go by, Jude Anthany Joseph holds a special interest for stories about women. His debut Ohm Shanthi Oshaana was a charming girl-meets-boy love story, which he followed up with Oru Muthassi Gadha, the tale of a grandmother setting out to fulfill her bucket-list dreams. Up next was Sara's, which handled the sensitive pro-choice theme. With his new film Thudakkam, the director enters the often-attempted territory of women's safety, but thankfully, with a refreshingly fresh female protagonist who can take care of herself.
Mohanlal's son Pranav made his debut in 2018 with Aadhi, a film specifically designed to tap into his skills that go beyond mere acting. Eight years later, we get almost a repeat with Thudakkam, his sister Vismaya's debut. If Pranav's parkour stunts were the USP in Aadhi, in Thudakkam, it’s Vismaya's expertise in martial arts.
Director: Jude Anthany Joseph
Cast: Vismaya Mohanlal, Aashish Joe Antony, Sai Kumar, Mohanlal, Bobby Kurian, Manoj K Jayan
Along with her, this is also the launch vehicle of Antony Perumbavoor's son Aashish Joe Antony. Director Jude is well aware of his assignment: a safe launch for the two youngsters by playing to their strengths. Jude just about manages to ensure that, but with a basic and formulaic approach.
Thudakkam isn't a film interested in the nuances. The characters and situations are all painted in broad strokes, leaving no room for insightfulness. We have a professional killer who does all things notorious. He snorts some white powder every now and then, eliminates his targets brutally, goes on to grope women in public, stalks them relentlessly, and assaults and kills them when required. Apart from this, we don't know anything about him. Agreed, backstories for rapists are not integral and can even end up justifying their actions, but we need more than constant stares and deep cigarette inhales. It is so generic that at one point, one can’t help but wonder if he'd scream, "chaaclate caaffee'…
Despite such a shallow character sketch, Aashish does a wonderful job in ensuring the character remains creepy and unpredictably violent throughout. He hardly gets any dialogue in the film, but his silent outbursts make a lasting impact.
Vismaya is equally impressive, especially in the fight sequences. The film initially tries hard to sell her as this chirpy (Chippy plays her mother, by the way), effervescent everyday girl, who, like most heroines, runs terrified to the man of the house at the first sight of lightning and thunder. The screenplay serves information only on a need-to-know basis about Meenu and her passion, which is the right call, considering the big reveal brewing. But for how long? The first half following a missing-person trail is stretched to its limits. Even though the non-linear screenplay keeps throwing in new information about Meenu's journey and her suspicious disappearance, the tension the characters feel never reaches us.
Some of Jude's creative calls in Thudakkam are worth discussing, like how he reserves the film's best moment for the second half even when it could have been the perfect interval block. He instead opts for a tense moment. Similarly, it's good to see the film spending considerable time with a character who feels violated, patiently underlining her healing journey. It also touches on how public perception can often lead to victim-blaming in our society, but the resolution for this part is shoddily done. Another example of filmmaking that's not in tune with current sensibilities.
Ironically, the film's biggest disappointment has to be its most awaited part — the Mohanlal cameo. The makers already revealed that the character was included at a later stage on Mohanlal's suggestion, and it clearly shows. It initially feels nice to see him not play the saviour, but when he is about to leave the scene after a quick pep talk and meta talk ('Make your father proud'), Jude suddenly seems to have remembered, 'Oh wait, that's Mohanlal, I need to use him more'. What follows is a lame action sequence that’s too desperate to please the gallery. To see Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor casually walking in and breaking the fourth wall in a serious film, in the midst of a serious situation, doesn't quite sit well. In fact, they stand out, oddly.
Speaking of meta references, at one point, Mohanlal says, “Ith molde thudakkamaanu, ith engane kondu ponamennu molde theerumanavum (This is your start, you should decide how to take it forward).” It’s funny that the same Mohanlal continues to almost handhold Vismaya by making uncalled-for, forced appearances in the climax and tail end.
The best thing about Thudakkam is easily its action, and yet, we don't get enough of it. The film could have benefited a lot more from a pacier, charged second half with the two leads constantly trying to have a go at each other, even if it meant they didn't get into actual fist fights. There's plenty of room for such psychological play, but the writing (Jude, Linish Nellikkal, Akhil Krishna) stays largely peripheral.
Although it's not explicitly spelt out, Thudakkam is more like a PSA on the need for women to learn martial arts or similar self-defence techniques to protect themselves. It might be intentionally correct, but this messaging that once again puts the onus back on women is starting to become dated. Self-defense, as has often been proved, is never a solution to the larger problem of violence against women. While Thudakkam spends considerable time on how women should protect themselves, it barely asks men anything. Maybe it's too much to ask for in a superficial commercial entertainer, but that's how you push the limits.
