Thallumaala Review (2022)

Thallumaala is a film of pure editing, something that is probably an exercise in style but something that is also held by admirable acting, music and most importantly its editing which by itself is trying to tell a different story.

The screenplay structure is absolutely mind boggling being nonlinear not only in the main overall structure but also having flashbacks inside flashback (Quick note: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Already did it in Arjun Reddy) with the film cheekily highlighting each flashback and the film also having been divided into various chapters or simply said: different fights.

Take for instance the scene where Wazim returns from Dubai. He gets back together with his friends and there is a song but simultaneously there is also Reji’s introduction and the song played for Wazim also intercuts between Reji’s gang and vice versa, thus establishing not only the bond between Reji’s friends but also telling that Reji’s gang of friends are similar to Wazim’s friends and that they by themselves are probably the lead group in another Thallumaala film.

While it is true to a degree that the structure is primarily a stylistic showcase, it is also quite a brilliant and contemporary depiction of modern social media behaviour that the current gen regularly consume. The opening Mosque fight have transitions which are straight up taken from Tik Tok, Moj etc and even as the film progresses, lightning fast jump cuts for character shift in place is used which is quite evidently a poke at the low attention span of ours.

The screenplay structure has been quite debated with some suggesting that it is used to confuse and wow the audience rather than have an actual meaning.

However the fascinating thing is the fact that the chapters actually increase the overall narrative chaos by starting at random times.

But the real usage of the nonlinear structure happens when we see singular events play out in 2-3 different variations brilliantly using the Rashamon effect and as a result explaining the current and past to us.

The portions leading up to Wasim wedding with Fathima is an absolute joy to watch and is phenomenely well-staged, acted and written. The tension that Khalid Rahman is able to whip up and that too over things which may be considered to be simple but make sense from the character’s POV is akin to Inglorious Basterds Opening sequence and the resulting fight is a joy to watch. The choreography, the slow mo camera along with the payoff add to the experience really well. The Theatre fight, Pre Marriage Car Fight, Marriage Fight are all an absolute madness and it is captured in brilliant slow mo and focus

Even though the story itself is, if rearranged, probably quite simple, the chemistry between Wazim, Rajesh, Jhamshi, Vikas and Sathaar is absolutely brilliant and helps keep us interested. The love track between Wazim and Fathima is quite interesting especially because we see the breakup, post breakup and then how they fell in love.