71. Thankam; movie review

 

THANKAM

Cert 12A

150 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

The improvement in the quality of southern Indian films has been quite remarkable during the past decade or so.

When I first began watching every film, the production values of Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies were well below Bollywood.

Nowadays, the chances are that a film from the south will have greater style and substance.

This has already been the case in 2023 and the rich vein of form was continued with Saheed Arafath's murder mystery Thankam which I missed on its short run at UK cinemas but caught on its first day on Amazon Prime.

Arafath's movie stars the excellent Biju Menon as Muthu, a quiet, loyal and thoughtful man, who lives in Thrissur - India's gold capital where he runs an illicit business with his best friend Kannan (Vineeth Sreenivasan).

The latter is a charming front for their activities, smuggling gold on a circuitous route to Mumbai where he is shockingly found dead.

The movie then follows the investigation, led by a quirky inspector (Girish Kulkarni) who, despite language barriers and cultural hurdles, gradually unveils the truth.

Thankam is unlike any previous Indian movie I can recall. There are no obvious heroes and a sense of sadness pervades, heightened by melancholic music.

And yet I was riveted, bought into these flawed characters and their uncomfortable surroundings. Each of them contributes to a narrative which enthrals, surprises and even frustrates.

It also brings a brave insight into real India... which I note that is becoming more common in movies and should be welcomed.

Reasons to watch: Riveting thriller

Reasons to avoid: Perhaps a little too slow

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? According to jewellers, a total of 720 tonnes of gold come to India every year, of which 380 tonnes arrive legally, by giving 15 per cent import duty and three per cent tax while the remaining 340 tonnes are smuggled.

The final word. Saheed Arafath: ""I am so happy to have got such an opportunity, and I'll always be thankful that my name is associated with a banner like Bhavana Studios." Cinema Express

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