Unpopular opinion: Is Mohanlal’s Thudarum an overrated masala revenge thriller?

Thudarum, the Tharun Moorthy (Operation Java & Saudi Vellakka ) directorial featuring Mohanlal in the lead, is one of the highest grossers of the Malayalam industry this year. Tharun’s fan service movie has been lapped up by audiences, who loved the return of ‘Lal the complete actor’. There have been bouquets galore for the team, but if you, like me, have not been as impressed, you are a part of a very small minority.

I watched Thudarum a couple of weeks ago, having read nothing but positive commentary about the film. I was excited about the pairing of Mohanlal and Shobana and was, quite naively, expecting the vibe of say, a Vellanakalude Naadu, Pavithram or Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam – you get the drift, right? What played out, though, left me disappointed to say the least. Are Malayalis satisfied with this Sathyan Anthikkad meets Shaji Kailas narrative? Are those who are singing paeans not familiar with the actor’s superlative work from the 80s and 90s? Are audiences so deprived that even the slightest spark of this earlier brilliance is now considered a masterpiece?

Before we proceed, let’s set the record straight – I’m a member of the neutral audience; love the Lal of the 80s and 90s and old-school enough to have a healthy collection of CDs of his films from that era. What was it about Thudarum that failed to excite me? I guess it begins with hoping that we’d get to see Lal from his prime, which, in all fairness, is my mistake – an expectation that grew with the narrative one found on social media.

Thudarum: Shobana underutilized in revenge drama

But then, there was barely anything by way of a Lal-Shobana combination either. Hell, he had so much more screentime and ‘chemistry’ with CI George (Prakash Varma) than with Shobana. Tharun did say that Thudarum is not a feel-good movie – agreed, but he also said family drama. There was drama, with the family a mere afterthought, one that served only one purpose – the police station interrogation and torture. Shobana was underused and relegated to shedding tears and getting beaten up. Thudarum would have been better described as a revenge drama.

And then, of course, the much talked about debut of Prakash Varma – the man made CI George well and truly despicable, but some of the dialogues were so crass and outdated, I wondered if I was seeing Balan K Nair in a film from 4-5 decades ago. Is slut-shaming really still such a powerful tool? Using honour killing as the base premise, much like Sookshmadarshini, also felt lame. 

Even if we were to put all of this aside, this was a story that was apparently narrated to Mohanlal a few years ago and he’s been excited since. Try as I might, I could not fathom why, because all that Thudarum felt to me was that they’d flipped the switch on Drishyam. While Lal’s George and his family is at the centre of killing a police officer’s son in Drishyam, this time around, the cops get the jump on his son. But unlike IG Geetha Prabhakar, who is torn by the knowledge that her son’s murderers roam freely, Benz Shanmukham does get his revenge. Is that the poetic justice that is being celebrated?