Theerppu movie review: Prithviraj, Indrajith’s ‘revenge drama cum dark comedy’ is offset by overindulgence

3/5

Story: Ramkumar decides to host his friend Parameswaran and wife at the former’s luxury hotel, promising a business proposition. But when Ramkumar’s true intentions are revealed, Parameswaran decides to invite another friend Abdulla, who has been haunted by the tragedies that the site has held for him as well as the betrayals that came as part of it. What happens when three friends – each at different varying points in their life – get together to recount what has led them to where they are.

Review: Scriptwriter Murali Gopy and director Rathish Ambat’s previous collaboration Kammarasambhavam was a tale of two halves – one about what actually transpired in the past and the other about how history was manipulated to influence the ignorant. In Theerppu, the duo borrows a thread or two from Kammarasambhavam, by way of how history is torn down and then rebuilt by the powerful, by falsifying the truths to appeal to the many. As a lot of audiences have come to expect from a Murali Gopy script, the treatment of Theerppu too is not the flat, linear kind; in fact, there are flashbacks of several kinds – one that ties to the story and the other referring to actual history itself. Amid this, you are bombarded with references, some of which even if you miss, doesn’t cost too much, depending on which layer of the story you are invested in.

The basic thread is about three friends coming together to recount the wrongs that have been done and the price that has been paid. The first half of the movie is a revenge drama of sorts, with Abdulla (Prithviraj)’s being the one who has literally been scarred by the betrayal, with his father being cheated off his ancestral property by those he trusted as his brothers. This becomes a recurring theme in the film, where no one can be trusted – neither the meek and powerless nor the influential and law enforcers.

The first half is also packed with embellishments; the luxury hotel that houses relics has been used to the full by its writer, almost to the point of overindulgence where each historical object gets an explanation and an impact later on – be it a bullet piercing Gandhi’s specs, the fascist dictators, The Thinker’s head getting knocked out of the park by Kapil Dev’s or Babe Ruth’s bat, the sway that NTR Rama Rao’s divine avatar held over the public or even a magazine that is used to fuel the fire. There is an allegory to what’s happening in today’s socio-political scenario where history is rewritten to influence and manipulate the ignorant as well as the indifferent. Though these references and the final closure to its characters add value, the ambiguities don't plaster the excesses the film’s script has; in fact, it just serves to make a simple tale, if told well, even more complicated.

There is a point where the movie swaps genres and this comes at the cost of Rathish placing his characters in a chamber filled with photos of Muhammed Ali and Bruce Lee, à la Jackie Chan’s City Hunter. It’s ridiculous, but at the same time, it helps achieve the swerve to the dark comedy territory in the second half, where Indrajith Sukumaran’s character of police officer Kalyan enters the fray. In fact, the two halves of the film work separately, but it’s debatable whether they are potent as a whole.

The film’s production design is grand. Performance wise, Prithviraj as Abdulla is at times inconsistent. He is drunk half the time but blinks out of the stupour the moment when revenge is on his mind, only to go back again once his monologues are done. Vijay Babu as the crafty, lying womanizer does a decent job, while Saiju Kurup fills in for comedy. Indrajith ably carries off his role, lending the perfect balance between sombre and comedy to make the latter portions work. Isha Talwar and Hannah Reji Koshy, however, don’t have much to do. Gopi Sundar’s background score does come off loud in certain portions of the film, which is 2 hours and 35 minutes long.

Verdict: Rathish Ambat once again chooses to tell a story that is packed with layers of information and keeps swapping genres with Theerppu. Though the ultimate point the film tries to make hits the bullseye, the paraphernalia that comes with it does dull it down.