Thankam Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2023 | Crime, Thriller
Critics:
Audience:
In Thankam, director Saheed Arafath and writer Syam Pushkaran offer an engaging police procedural that plays out as an investigation film. The movie is about the ins and outs of gold dealing in Thrissur. What works best here is the authenticity in the treatment of its characters.
Jan 29, 2023 By Sreejith Mullappilly

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Streaming:
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In Thankam, director Saheed Arafath and writer Syam Pushkaran offer an engaging police procedural that plays out as an investigation film. The movie is about the ins and outs of gold dealing in Thrissur. Biju Menon's Muthu and Vineeth Sreenivasan's Kannan do a job that requires them to travel long distances to transfer pure gold. Something bad happens on one of their journeys, which requires police intervention.


I cannot discuss the specifics of the plot because this is a thriller. What works wonderfully well in Thankam is the authenticity in the treatment of the characters. The investigation takes place in two states, so it requires the officers to speak or at least understand multiple languages.


One of the states in the film is Maharashtra, so the makers appropriately use a seasoned actor like Girish Kulkarni for a local police officer's role. A Maharashtra-born actor, Kulkarni is wonderfully understated as the police officer heading the investigation. The actor never really shouts at people as he probes them in the film, but he is still such an imposing figure. This character is written so well for the most part that it is reminiscent of cops in some hard-hitting Hindi films. Cops in Malayalam cinema are not usually this good.


The film also maintains a sense of authenticity in even the most minute aspects. Whether a piece of action takes place on the road or in a movie theater, we see the investigators going there while going through the rigors of a procedural. The makers do not really skip any part of the investigation, whether it is small or large. They also use actors from those parts of India that are appropriate for the locations where the story takes place. Besides, the use of a translator helps maintain that sense of authenticity.


It is amazing, then, that they make one minor error in character treatment towards the end that takes the shine off an otherwise engaging thriller. Without spoiling anything, let me just say that it involves the treatment of Biju Menon's character. The attempt to pander to the mass appeal of Biju Menon is unnecessary in such a realistic film. It is probably the only misstep in Thankam, but it keeps the film from being a truly taut thriller instead of an engaging one. This minor blemish aside, the writing for all the characters is top-notch.


The ending may not be hard to predict, but it has an interesting idea and the movie is more of a procedural. Midway through the film, you may make some mental calculations about the climax, and one of those guesses will most likely turn out to be right. Nevertheless, it is also to the movie's credit that we are even making those calculations constantly. After all, this is a procedural.

Sreejith Mullappilly

   

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