162. Thuramukham; movie review

 

THURAMUKHAM

Cert 12A

166 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat, sexual threat, injury detail

Indian cinema doesn't get much grittier than this.

Thuramukham is ambitious and hard-hitting. It reaches right into the underbelly of the nation in the aftermath of Partition.

It exposes the corruption of the establishment, including the unions that claim to be defenders of workers' rights but are instead a hotbed of self-interest.

Nivin Pauly stars as Moidu who is born into a righteous family but becomes a murderous henchman of the ruthless man (Sudev Nair) who decides who gets work and who doesn't.

Meanwhile, his mother (Poornima Indrajith) barely scrapes enough money to run their shack of a home and his more low-key brother (Arjun Ashokan) labours for a pittance.

The movie is set in the 1950s at the Mattancherry harbour in Kochi where the notorious ‘Chappa’ system of casual labour is in place.

This involves metal tokens being thrown into the waiting crowds of labourers, where they would fight for them to earn the right to be given a day's shift.

Protests against it are savagely put down by a combination of the shipping company bosses, corrupt union officials and the police.

However, the workers refuse to be denied.

Rajeev Ravi's movie works so well because of the way it recreates the grit and uncertainty of portside life among the poor.

It has the style of a much older film with its score evoking a sense of danger lurking behind every corner in each dark alley.

Pauly is a superb anti-hero, while Ashokan and Indrajith play those on the side of right with quiet dignity.

Overall, I was entranced. It is an excellent piece of work.

Reasons to watch: Ambitious and hard-hitting

Reasons to avoid: Too long

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity:  None

Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? Film writer Gopan Chidambaram adapted his script from a play of the same name made by his father – the late KM Chidambaram – in the late 1960s.

The final word. Rajeev Ravi: "Wherever in the world, all of the historical records and writings that we have today were produced at the behest of the wealthy, including the kings, moguls, lords, and feudal lords. They were commissioned; someone paid for it all and had it written for them. They’re not about the common man. The proletarian struggles never got a space in these historical texts." Indian Express

Share this post