A crime thriller directed by Jis Joy — this was one of the main factors that piqued the interest of moviegoers in Kerala when Thalavan’s initial promotional materials arrived as the helmer has mostly created “feel-good’ flicks throughout his career, except for his last outing Innale Vare.
Jis Joy has created “feel-good” content bar one throughout his career. So when he announced Thalavan, a crime thriller, it piqued the interest of audience. His movies such as Sunday Holiday, Vijay Superum Pournamiyum and Mohan Kumar Fans have been trolled online for their overt positivity and extreme optimism, which many find vexing. Though he attempted to change this perception with Innale Vare, it turned out to be a misfire. However, the trailer of Thalavan surprised many as its tone and style deviated from Jis Joy’s previous works. Now that the Asif Ali and Biju Menon-starrer has hit the screens, it is clear that the director has significantly pushed his boundaries, to the extent of making it hard to believe that it’s Jis Joy’s creation, were it not for his name in the opening credits. However, whether his emergence out of his comfort zone has helped in creating a good movie is a question that requires a deep dive into Thalavan.
The film revolves around two police officers, CI Jayashankar (Biju Menon) and SI Karthik Vasudevan (Asif Ali), who work at the local police station in a fictional place called Cheppanamthotta. Their lives take a drastic turn when the body of a woman, tortured and murdered, is found on the terrace of the former’s house. Thalavan begins a few years after the incidents that form its core plot, with retired police officer, Udhayabanu (Dileesh Pothan), who was Jayashankar and Karthik’s superior at that time, narrating the events on his true crime TV show. The incident is presented as a sensational case that caused the department many sleepless nights and significant shame. As Udhayabanu begins his narration, Thalavan takes viewers back to Cheppanamthotta in 2019, where the events unfold.
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However, as soon as the flashback commences, Thalavan begins acting weird and feels disjointed, as if many earlier scenes were injudiciously chopped off. Without laying any groundwork or even a few shots that could serve as some sort of introduction to the characters of Jayashankar and Karthik, Thalavan’s flashback immediately shows the two behaving irreverently to each other, given this is the first time they are meeting and it is Karthik’s first day at the Cheppanamthotta station. This issue persists throughout the film, with even the duo’s colleagues shown to be either pro-Jayashankar or anti-Jayashankar, sans any justification, and the only explanation given is in the case of CPO Raghu (Kottayam Nazeer). In fact, the entire movie gives off the feeling that a significant number of scenes and incidents have been thoughtlessly edited out, leading to sequences that start and end abruptly.
One of Thalavan’s biggest flaws is its poorly crafted dialogue, written by Jis himself, which often sounds artificial, clichéd or bizarre and lack natural flow. At the same time, Anand Thevarkkat and Sarath Perumbavoor’s script fails to elevate the film at any point, as the moments are too uninteresting to create any excitement or provide an edge-of-the-seat experience. Its abrupt shifts in tone between a police procedural and a crime thriller also detract from the overall experience.
Meanwhile, a character who introduces himself as a screenwriter (Jaffar Idukki) enters the scene and tells Karthik that he has crafted a script about the incident and, according to his findings, “its ending will shock all,” albeit his findings are absurd. Though in the end, we realise that this was meant to be meta/self-referential, viewers are unlikely to share the sentiment, as the way the film unravels and reaches its conclusion is anything but impressive, let alone shocking or thrilling.
Watch Thalavan trailer here:
Though both Jayashankar and Karthik are present in almost all the scenes, neither of their characters is properly fleshed out and they mostly appear superficial. They lack depth, and the script’s attempts to round out these characters fail to achieve the desired results. Even though Thalavan features several other characters, including Udhayabanu, Jayashankar’s wife Sunitha (Miya George), and Ramya (Anusree), whose murder is central to the plot, none of them go beyond a surface level or contribute significantly to the narrative.
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As cops, both Asif Ali and Biju Menon, who have repeatedly demonstrated their prowess in such roles, are convincing and interesting. However, they don’t bring anything novel to their portrayals that they haven’t already displayed in previous portrayals of similar characters. It is also high time for Biju Menon to stop taking on cop roles, which are reminiscent of his role in Ayyappanum Koshiyum, though his performance here is adequate. While Asif Ali is sharp in his role, the film overlooks his potential as an actor or star, providing him with nothing significant. Even the other actors fail to contribute significantly to Thalavan due to poor characterisations.
Nevertheless, Thalavan compensates for its shortcomings with its technical aspects, particularly the cinematography by Sharan Velayudhan. Even though the film doesn’t provide much space to showcase his skills, Sharan makes the most of what he has and delivers a decent visual experience, although his efforts fall short at times. Director Jis Joy, despite thrillers not being his forte, has crafted an impressive world and atmosphere that would have been more engaging with a stronger script. Sooraj ES’ editing, while effective in some scenes, falters in many others, especially the action sequences where the pacing feels awkward and unnatural. Although Deepak Dev’s music is generally disappointing, he redeems himself with the banger title track, which unfortunately doesn’t get used until the closing credits — yet another poor choice. The film’s color grading was another major drawback, making all the frames appear excessively sharp and unnatural.
Thalavan movie cast: Asif Ali, Biju Menon, Miya George, Anusree, Dileesh Pothan
Thalavan movie director: Jis Joy
Thalavan movie rating: 1.5 stars
