Movie : Thappana
Banner: Galaxy Films
Cast: Mammootty, Charmi, Mala Aravindan, Vijayaraghavan, Suresh Krishna, Kalabhavan Shajoon, Kottayam Nazeer, Murali Gopy, Salim Kumar
Direction: Johny Antony
Production: Milan Jaleel
Music: Vidyasagar
It has been after almost a dozen Mammootty films in the last eighteen months that one movie is coming out with a softer, likable Mammootty in its narratives. The new flick from Johny Antony -‘Thappana’ qualifies as a reasonably good entertainer, provided you keep your deep sense of logic back at home. A mix up of mass masala fares with half a dozen fights and witty one-liners, the movie can be expected to clear off the deadlock of flops from Mammootty . A typical Johny Antony flick, with not any sort of serious tales but with funny escapades and one-liners, this ‘Thappana’ can qualify for an one time watch for this festival season'( definitely for those who had clapped for his ‘Chattambi Nadu’ and ‘Thuruppu ghulan’).
Admirably giving a credit line for inspiration of the plot from a work of Ashapoornadeevi, the movie has Mammootty in the ‘Mayavi’ mould ‘, an ordinary thief named Samson with a pinch of positive virtues, who is ready to take up any dangerous job if he is paid well. With a big problem in spelling out the alphabet ‘s’, this Samson is shown as a drifter who spends much of his time behind bars at Kannur jail, enjoying his life with the friends and policemen inside.
The movie opens with Samson released from jail . And the very same day he finds another beautiful lady named Mallika, who also is freed from her sentence of five years for a murder. Samsun finds an instant linking for her and with nowhere to go, Samsun follows Mallika; but soon finds her soaked in blood following a road accident. Samsun takes care of her at the hospital and on her insistence follows her to her village amidst the hilly terrains of Karipa. But once they are there, Samsun and Mallika are forced to face some unexpected problems that they have never thought of.
‘Thappana’ has a simple story line, which works well for its freshness of the basic plot. The former half of the movie is evenly paced and resemble a uncomplicated travelogue, but the scripts by Sindhuraj in the later half seems wandering much to reach that expected and predictable climax. Apart from Mammootty no other characters has well fleshed out roles and Vijayaraghavan as the C I John is over the top and ridiculous, unless taken in very lighter veins.
The highlight of the movie is definitely Mammootty , around whom much of the story is weaved . He is there in almost every frames and makes the best use of the opportunity to test his comic timing, in fact after a gap of two years from his last hit ‘Best Actor’. And here he manages to make you laugh most of the times and is supported by Vijesh and Shajon, as his trusted aides. Charmi is perfect in her role as Mallika, while the rest of the cast including Murali Gopi as the antagonist plays to the demands of the role.
The songs by Vidyasagar , particularly the ‘Oorum perum Ariyathe’..is good and is also visualized well. The BGM is also effective. Johny Antony is supported by the fine technical sides headed by Raja Ratnam behind camera and Ranjan Abraham in editing. The movie has half a dozen fights, some of them unwarranted. The CG and Chroma Keying in some sequences but appear amateurish.
On the whole, ‘Thaappana’ is not an unique work, but offers an ordinary watch that may please you for this festival season. If marketed well, ‘Thappana’ may also end the recent flop show of the Superstar.