‘Thankam’ movie review: A layered character study and engaging procedural rolled in one

A nonetheless from ‘Thankam’

One can painting a gaggle concerned in a selected commerce or perhaps a group from an outsider’s perspective, or have a look at them as somebody from inside would do. In Thankam, steeped on this planet of the small-time brokers, workshop males and deliverers within the gold trade of Thrissur, director Saheed Arafath and scrip author Syam Pushkaran, select to do the latter. The track sequence in the course of the opening credit — a montage of each exercise on this trade a lot of which operates slightly below the radar — units the tone for what’s in retailer.

It’s a beautifully-crafted sequence which depicts the exact work, the dangers concerned, the expanse of the enterprise and the camaraderie between the principal gamers. When Kannan (Vineeth Sreenivasan), who delivers the completed gold to jewellers in varied states, rigorously ties an entire roll of paper stuffed with gold bangles round his waist — as a precautionary measure earlier than his supply run — one will get an inkling of the perilous paths that he has to tread. It’s this path stuffed with potentialities of deceit and backstabbing that Thankam is worried with.

Muthu (Biju Menon)‘s gold enterprise depends on Kannan’s straightforward appeal, with which he has constructed up a large community of contacts. The script is constructed round two incidents that occur throughout his gold run. The second incident, of Kannan going lacking in Mumbai with a substantial amount of gold, drives the movie. However we preserve coming again to the seemingly minor first occasion, of Kannan, Muthu and their good friend (Vineeth Thattil) touchdown within the police web throughout a visit to Coimbatore. Features of their character, hitherto unknown, will get revealed as we go alongside, however a key facet of one of many characters is stored for the final.

However even with the little that we all know of them, we stay invested of their lives, nearly as a lot as they’re within the gold, because of how they’re written. The ladies (particularly Kannan’s spouse performed by Aparna Balamurali) although get under-written roles, with solely gold seller Ambika (Indira Prasad) getting a powerful half. Actor Kochupreman, who handed away just lately, will get one of the crucial memorable strains within the film.

The movie takes off as a police procedural with the arrival of a Mumbai police workforce led by an ready officer (Girish Kulkarni in a brilliantly-essayed position). The investigation, whereas specializing in the whodunnit, can be about letting us into the intricacies of the commerce and new sides of the characters. Humour retains popping up even amid the grimness of questioning and tailing the suspects, with the narrative hardly dropping its maintain on us.

This almost-stranglehold and the expectations constructed up by an investigation throughout geographies can have its negatives, as the massive reveal in the long run may be much less satisfying, relying on which manner you have a look at it. it purely as an investigative thriller, what we get in the long run could be a downer, however as a personality examine of somebody who exhibits solely the most effective components of his life to these near him, it’s a winner. However the journey until that time is dealt with masterfully, whichever manner you have a look at it.

Thankam is at present working in theatres