Life’s been rough for civil police officer Baby John lately. In just a few days, he’s crashed an autorickshaw into a motorist while escorting the three-wheeler’s drunk driver to the nearest police station, his kid has been caught cheating during the school exams and he’s suffered injuries in a road accident. Though he thought he had hit rock bottom, there was still further to fall. Baby realises this only when he himself is busted cheating during the head constable exams, bringing shame to the department and his family.
Debutant director Riyas Shereef’s Thundu (a colloquial Malayalam word referring to small pieces of paper with notes written on them for cheating during exams; the word is also used by Malayalis to refer to porn videos) stars seasoned actor Biju Menon as Baby, a poor cop facing a string of misfortunes. Senior CPO Shibin Chandran (Shine Tom Chacko) keeps making things worse for Baby by constantly throwing him under the bus over some past beef. Troubles continue to plague Baby as everything he touches seems to turn into a disaster, affecting his family life as well.
Despite Riyas Shereef’s story having a decent setup for a funny flick, Thundu totally misses the mark and doesn’t use it to its full potential.
While the film starts with a mass introduction of Mathew, Baby’s son, stepping into the classroom amidst high anticipation from his classmates and backed by powerful BGM, the character almost fades into the background for a significant portion of the movie, only to resurface towards the end, rendering his character somewhat underutilised. Upon reflection, it becomes apparent that the hype was for the paper chits used for cheating and the process itself, as several close-up shots had revealed the various methods employed by the students to conceal the notes. However, the staging of this sequence fails to convey that focus effectively, as the emphasis remains mostly on the child, which feels like a misstep.
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It is then that Thundu reveals its focus on Baby. Nevertheless, the moments fail to engage due to poor writing. The scenes don’t seamlessly connect, resulting in abrupt transitions. Even after introducing Shibin, the tension between him and Baby is not effectively communicated. They exchange tense looks, with Shibin often grinning at Baby while the latter remains in a perpetual state of embarrassment due to his misfortunes. However, as the true reason behind their conflict is concealed for an unnecessarily long time and the tension remains surface-level, this storyline becomes somewhat tedious over time.
Even the other conflicts lack the punch required to convey their significance in the narrative, resulting in everything seeming rather bleak. Though Thundu tries to elicit some laughs occasionally, many of the jokes and accompanying moments are poorly crafted and written, leading to wasted efforts by Riyas and co-screenwriter Kannappan.
Another major shortcoming that prevents Thundu from reaching heights is weak character development. It’s not just Baby; characters such as his wife (played by Unnimaya Prasad), Shibin, Mathew, Raghavan (Raffi) and others lack depth, failing to make a significant impact.
However, Biju Menon makes an effort to elevate Thundu to some extent with his charm, decently portraying Baby’s helplessness even in less compelling scenes. He once again wears the police uniform with finesse, providing viewers with some relief. Shine Tom Chacko, on the other hand, surprises with his restrained performance, steering clear of the irritating persona he exhibits in real-life interviews. His efforts would have been more rewarding with a deeper character. Despite attempts by Raffi, Sajin Cherukayil, Zhinz Shan, and Shaju Sreedhar to inject humour at times, their scope is limited.
One of the major disappointments in the film is Jimshi Khalid’s cinematography. While he has consistently demonstrated excellence in his previous works such as Thallumaala (2022), Love (2020) and Kappela (2020), his cinematography in Thundu fails to enhance the movie effectively. In particular, the numerous extreme close-up shots used in the cheating scenes, seemingly employed to give an adrenaline rush, are out of sync with the overall tone of the movie, ultimately proving counterproductive. Gopi Sundar’s music too fails to make a significant contribution to the film and sometimes disregards the atmosphere presented.
Thundu movie cast: Biju Menon, Shine Tom Chacko, Unnimaya Prasad, Raffi
Thundu movie director: Riyas Shereef
Thundu movie rating: 1 star
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