[ad_1]
Thekku Vadakku movie review: There’s something inherently enjoyable about movies that explore the male ego, rather than merely glorifying it, and examine men’s — mostly cis-het — tendency to harbour animosity towards ‘rivals’ for long periods. As soon as one begins dissecting the male ego, its pettiness and shallowness become almost immediately apparent. The incessant need to assert one’s masculinity also reflects its fragility and no matter how many times someone proves themself to be ‘man enough,’ it never truly becomes enough. As a result, even minor conflicts are often blown out of proportion and escalated into full-blown wars that seem never-ending. Director Prem Sankar’s Thekku Vadakku (while these words literally mean south and north, respectively, the phrase is used metaphorically to describe wandering aimlessly), starring Vinayakan and Suraj Venjaramoodu, revolves around two men who have been rivals since childhood, each determined to outdo the other.
Madhavan (Vinayakan) and Shankunni (Suraj) grew up in the same place and have known each other since childhood. Despite sharing the same friend circle and frequently encountering each other, they’ve never gotten along. Their fathers were also ‘enemies’ and many believe this to be the root of their mutual dislike, which has led them to constantly find petty reasons to clash. Besides not talking or even looking at each other, the two have also been embroiled in a 30-year legal battle over a piece of land and a decaying one-storey building on it. While Madhavan is a retired KSEB officer, Shankunni runs a small rice mill and even in old age, they remain fixated on the land, almost as if their identities are bound to the outcome of the court case, with the verdict determining who the true ‘winner’ is. The remainder of the film, employing observational, exaggerated and satirical comedy, follows their relentless attempts to outdo each other.
Cinema Anatomy | Devara: Jr NTR, Koratala Siva’s film exemplifies why filmmakers should move past their Rajamouli fixation and focus on nurturing better writers
While Thekku Vadakku has a promising premise that could have been transformed into a laugh riot, it falls short of reaching its full potential. The film opens with the revelation that both Madhavan and Shankunni have died, leaving their sons to settle the land dispute. The entire Madhavan-Shankunni story is told in flashbacks from their sons’ perspectives. From the outset, as the sons bond over shared trauma, it’s easy to predict that they, too, will eventually become rivals, inheriting their fathers’ conflict and this prediction doesn’t go wrong in the end. Much like this predictable arc, Thekku Vadakku is filled with moments that make the audience smile at best, but never truly LOL, with much of the comedy working due to Vinayakan and Suraj’s strong performances.
Although writer S Hareesh is known for the intricacy, fluidity and multidimensionality of his works — with even his scripts maintaining these qualities, as seen in Jallikattu (2019), Churuli (2021) and Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (2023) — in Thekku Vadakku, he takes a different approach. The narrative here is crafted with fewer layers, focusing more on comedy and performances. However, the film gives the impression that it would have worked better as a short story or novella rather than a feature-length film. Given that Hareesh’s scripts are often heavily influenced by literature, it’s crucial for the director to find the right tone and weave it into their cinematic style. While Lijo Jose Pellissery successfully did this in the aforementioned films, Thekku Vadakku shows that Prem failed to find this balance. Instead of leaning into satire or exaggerated comedy, Prem treats the film as a conventional comedy-drama, resulting in even the dialogues sounding forced many a time. On closer observation, they seem better suited to be read than spoken aloud.
Watch Thekku Vadakku trailer here:
While Thekku Vadakku attempts to satirise various aspects of society, especially the idiosyncrasies of older Malayali men — their hypocrisies, stubbornness and pseudo-political beliefs — it fails to sustain these commentaries beyond a point. Early on, we see a Leftist politician and his comrades erecting a flex board with his image, promoting the end of the caste system. “We have no caste,” the board declares, yet below it, the politician’s name — Sriraman Nair — is prominently shown, underscoring how savarnas use anti-caste rhetoric for clout. Despite Madhavan and Shankunni being part of this seemingly progressive party, Madhavan sends his wife back to her home after decades of marriage over unpaid dowry, while Shankunni names his rice mill “Namboothiri’s” to appeal to sanctimonious pure-vegetarians. However, as the film progresses, it becomes solely focused on the petty rivalry between Madhavan and Shankunni, abandoning the social commentary tone completely. The jokes, too, often fall flat, with only the performances saving them from complete failure.
Thekku Vadakku is filled with moments that make the audience smile at best, but never truly LOL, with much of the comedy working due to Vinayakan and Suraj’s strong performances. (Image: Anjana VARS/YT)
Nonetheless, Hareesh does succeed in drawing out the characters of Madhavan and Shankunni, with the actors’ performances elevating the writing. In court, almost all lawyers know Madhavan and vice-versa and he even knows the unofficial smoking area in the court premises showing his familiarity with the surroundings and also the knowledge of a government employee as to how such institutions work. From his overt use of English and obsession with Western culture to his reluctance to accept any kind of personal loss, even if it involves another person, Madhavan’s character is well-drawn. Similarly, Shankunni — with his paranoia that Madhavan is trying to kill him by drowning and his love for courtrooms and insistence that the case never end — too is also a peculiar and memorable character. Their equation often brings to mind the one between Sardar Krishna Kurup (Jagathy Sreekumar) and Sardar Koma Kurup (Kuthiravattam Pappu) in Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu (1986).
However, Prem fails to imbue the visual language with the necessary depth to fully extract the humour in these moments, leaving the comedy largely restricted to the dialogue and the physical gestures of Vinayakan and Suraj. The excessive use of close-ups too detracts from the experience and Sam CS’s background score is often overwhelming, although his songs are commendable.
While the role could have easily led to overacting, Vinayakan gives Madhavan distinctiveness, making him memorable and relatable to viewers who have encountered similar personalities. Also, the song “Kasa Kasa” proves that Malayalam cinema totally overlooked Vinayakan’s exceptional dance skills. It may be recalled that Vinayakan was once part of a dance troupe, with Fire dance being his specialty. He made his debut in Maanthrikam (1995) playing a small role as a dancer. Suraj excels in avoiding redundancy, ensuring that Shankunni feels fresh, despite having portrayed characters from similar backgrounds before. Shameer Khan also delivers a good performance, providing some laughs. Amal Chandra’s makeup and Ayesha Shafeer Sait’s costume design also deserve recognition.
Thekku Vadakku movie cast: Vinayakan, Suraj Venjaramoodu
Thekku Vadakku movie director: Prem Sankar
Thekku Vadakku movie rating: 2 stars
[ad_2]
Source link
