Tharun Moorthy has probably established himself as the blockbuster director of the era in Malayalam cinema with Thudaram. Delivering a Mohanlal film that pleases the viewers and critics alike or at least one of the two is a task at which many a new and accomplished filmmakers and writers have failed on multiple occasions in the past two decades or so. Much like the recurring motif in the film, that of an untamed wild elephant, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Tharun Moorthy has taken the wild mammoth of an elephant that the actor and box office powerhouse Mohanlal is, by the tuskers and wrangled out a movie that will run amok in theatres wherever there’s a Malayali presence, across the lands.

The craft and skill of the director are evident and anchor the movie into the hearts and minds of the viewer right from the opening sequence. It is indeed heartening to see that Malayalam Cinema that’s renowned for content is achieving technical finesse of the kind that we’ve been envious of in movies from more established industries of late. Cinematography by Shaji Kumar is stellar in it’s entire running time. It’s almost impossible to talk about the movie without revealing spoilers of some kind and it makes perfect sense in retrospection when you think about how tightlipped Tharun and team were, about the movie. Wouldn’t blame him either, considering the recent experiences of filmmakers like Lijo Jose Pellissery. It has worked to an extent in the success of the film too, I dare say. The writer KR Sunil penned on social media that the film started as an idea when he saw man staring at an impounded car in a police station compound in a Kerala town. He has flexed that thought with Tharun Moorthy into one of the finest commercial movie scripts in recent times in Malayalam. Of course it evokes rather strong memories of Mohanlal’s iconic Drishyam and his other hit with his buddy Priyadarshan, Oppam, but who’s bothered when you are emotionally involved like only Mohanlal can make you, as a viewer. Personally I felt that the film is an antithesis to Drishyam in many ways and also to Sachi’s swan song, Ayyappanum Koshiyum which ironically to me was an antithesis to the hero archetype that Mohanlal himself was stifled to, since Devasuram. But that’s a thought for another day. The movie is also pleasantly littered with references to Mohanal film lore and the recent social media jibes, digs and trolls that Mohanlal has been subject to and of.

Much has been said about Prakash Varma the ad guru who makes his debut and holds his own against Mohanlal, which is something to say indeed. Having said that, it is indeed Mohanlal who delivers a performance that has shades of almost all characters that have endeared him to viewers over the years, who undoubtedly holds and carries the film like only he can. Tharun Moorthy has of course played to the gallery and no one’s complaining because the man obviously knows his game. Shobhana makes a come back on screen with Mohanlal and the dynamics against the family backdrop worked more for me than it did in Drishyam. Different movie, makers and unfair comparison maybe, but still an involuntary thought. Tharun Moorthy has extracted exactly what he needed for the film to work from the rest of the cast namely Binu Pappu, Irshad, Manianpilla Raju, Farhan Faasil and Abin Bino. Thomas Mathew and Amritha Varshini play Mohanlal’s children and Aarsha Chandini Baiju impresses in the few but crucial scenes she have. Bharatiraja and Ilavarasu makes apperance from Tamil along with actors like Arjun Asokan, Santhosh Keezhatoor, Shobi Thilakan and Suresh Kumar who apparently are more than happy to play roles that are cameos or a bit more in a Mohanlal vehicle. It would be a crime to not mention Jakes Bejoy who almost carries the film with fierce loyalty right from the word go. Even in scenes where the writing teases to falter, Jakes Bejoy comes to the rescue. And a moment of silence for Nishad Yusuf the editor who tragically passed before he could see the fruit of his efforts. More importantly Tharun Moorthy proves yet again that when Mohanlal is in the frame, backdrops, be it international locales or small towns, doesn’t really matter, as long has you have a decent story to tell, that fits and respects the icon that the man is, as an actor and a star. The saga, goes on.