Thammudu Review: Nithiin's action fest lacks soul and purpose

Thammudu Story

Jai (Nithiin) parts ways with his sister Jhansi (Laya) at a very young age. Cut to a decade later, she gets engrossed in a high-profile case and needs to submit a report to the government in accordance with a bomb blast. While she is on vacation with her family, goons attack her, and how her brother lands there and saves her is the basic story of Thammudu.

Thammudu Review

Thammudu has been in the making for the last three years and has been directed by Sreeram Venu, who last made Vakeel Saab with Pawan Kalyan. He penned a forest thriller and gave it a brother-sister angle. Thammudu starts on a positive note with the brother-sister backstory. 

The moment the film shifts to the forest, things become even more interesting. But too much action without any purpose spoils the fun big time. There is no end to the action, and no wonder the film got an A certificate from the censors. 

After a point, one starts to feel how much more action is coming our way, as the hero seems to have answers for thousands of goons coming at him time and again. Logic goes for a toss, and the emotional angle is spoiled midway.

A lot of money has been spent on the film to shoot it in real locations. While the thrills are decent, they are in abundance. The moment you think the film is finally over, yet another action episode breaks out in the climax. 

Going by the title, one understands that Thammudu is a brother-sister story, but it is hardly utilized in the setup. Director Sreeram Venu had so much scope to elevate this aspect, but he concentrates more on action.

Nithiin looks weak, hardly focuses on the subject, and keeps on doing action. He looks tired in several scenes, which causes the audience to lose interest. The first half has decent emotions, and the action works well. But the moment the second half starts, there is no purpose in the film. It is only chase sequences and unwanted characters being revealed one after the other.

In all his interviews, director Sreeram Venu stated that Thammudu has five strong characters that drive the film. But the so-called characters hardly create an impact. They are weak and are present just for the sake of it. The character of Sapthami Gowda makes some sense in the setup, but it is overdone after a while.

Coming to the performances, Nithiin tries hard to salvage the film, but he is also let down by weak narration. The Sye star does well in the action episodes, but when it comes to emotions, he is below par. Varsha Bollama gets a meaty role and is very good in the film. She does a lot of action and is neatly placed in the narrative. 

Swasika is seen as Gutti and plays a negative role, but her character is underdeveloped and does not add much to the setup. Laya makes a decent comeback after a long gap and gets a powerful role, but her character does not have much to do in the mid-portions of the film.

Also Read: Uppu Kappurambu Review: Keerthy Suresh shines in a village drama that’s fun until it gets too loud 

Saurabh Sachdeva makes his Telugu debut and plays the main villain. The way he acts in a crazy role is a delight to watch, and whenever he appears on screen, things make sense. The action episodes have been designed well, but the tacky VFX bring down the stunts in the second half. 

Ajaneesh Loknath has composed the music, and the BGM is praiseworthy. The production values are top-notch, and every penny spent is ably showcased by the gritty camerawork.

Thammudu had a great story and a solid premise. It could have been a gripping thriller if it had been narrated in under two hours. But once again, the makers go for commercial aspects and add too much action, which bores the audience and makes the film fall flat on its face.

Nithiin's hunt for a comeback continues, and producer Dil Raju needs to recheck his script selection, which has been going wrong with back-to-back films like Game Changer and Thammudu.

Thammudu Verdict

On the whole, Thammudu is an over-the-top action drama that lacks purpose. It has non-stop action that defies logic. The star cast performs well, but Sreeram Venu's direction leaves a lot to be desired and makes this film a boring watch this weekend.