Thalavara
Introduction
It is interesting that the protagonist Jyothish (Arjun Ashokan) in the new Malayalam film Thalavara holds a discreet ambition to work as an actor in an industry. The catch to this ambition is his Vitiligo, a skin disease that prompts these watch patches to pop-up on his body. Interestingly, he doesn’t like being photographed, while tactfully using filters on his selfies to hide his flaws, even while donning a full-sleeve attire throughout the film. The irony lies in its subtext – the protagonist holding onto the ambition of working in an industry where looks matter! Or atleast this is what he thinks, a sentiment that can be traced back to a film that he was a part of as a child, but his role was cutoff because of his skin condition. In a scene, you see him waiting for a passenger at a lottery store, in the next scene, he stumbles upon a director that he thinks would change his fate. And the core theme of Thalavara lies right between these scenes, a drama that has a social commentary on acceptance but hardly ventures into the preachy category, almost wanting to commit to the journey of Jyothish as a slice of life drama, only using his skin condition to harbour traces of an underdog story. And therein lies the beauty of the film that gently touches the strings of your heart.
Story & Screenplay
Written by Akhil Anilkumar and Appu Aslam, Thalavara plays out like a fairytale of sorts wherein the people around Jyothish play an important role. For instance, you aren’t aware of the real name of Jyothish, given how his friends refer to him by the name ‘Panda’ – an animal with a spotted skin. It is worth noting on how each of his friends have a pet name that is used ‘affectionately’, but only Jyothish is at the receiving end of a derogatory undertone with respect to his name. Elsewhere, you also witness his family taking subtle jibes at Jyothish, without coming across as a deliberate attempt. For instance when Jyothish shares his ambitions of becoming an actor to his mother Asha (Devadarshini Chetan), she retorts on how anyone would cast a person with skin patches. It must be noted that she doesn’t mean any harm to him, and even this retort comes from a place of empathy, something that still discriminates Jyothish to an extent.
The dots of Jyothish wanting to be an actor is essentially marred by the presence of his ‘filmy’ father Kanappan (Ashokan), simply because even Kanappan harboured similar ambitions once upon a time, much to Asha’s dismay. In fact, the parts of the humour quotient is reserved for Kanappan who is so filmy, that the meta-culture seeps into his real life too. When his daughter has fled, he chooses to look at her picture. Elsewhere during an argument, he slaps Jyothish, not because he had insulted Asha, but because that is what he has seen in films at the end of every argument. It is moments like these that don’t allow the drama to be weighed down, instead keeping it afloat with a sugar-glazed narrative!
In between, there is a budding love story between Jyothish and Sandhya (Revathy Sarma), a new Tamil-Malayali girl who enters the town and works at a travel agency. There is a hint of In Harihar Nagar (1990), even as Jyothish’s friends vye for her attention, invariably pushing Jyothish ahead because he is ‘safe’ according to them. But even when the love story starts, it uses Sandhya as a catalyst to motivate Jyothish, in order to accept himself the way he is even before the world can. In a scene when Sandhya is posed a question on why she has fallen for Jyothish, her reply remains on how he carries himself despite his flaws. In a another beautiful scene, you see Sandhya taking Jyothish on top of a tall building where the noise of someone arguing at the bottom slowly begins to fade out, a metaphor for cutting out the outside noise for Jyothish.
The drama also chooses to provide a searing metaphor for the auditions of the film industry. But the commentary here felt a tad like a parody, even through a course of a few scenes – one involving Jyothish having to bribe to get a nod into the audition room, in another, a producer ‘interrogating’ him in the name of an audition, and lastly, a struggling actor suddenly attacking Jyothish in the middle of an audition. The issue lays in its frivolous tone, that briefly strays away from landing with precision. Having said that, the emotional moments around this incident keep you distracted from its flaws. Be it the argument and the reconciliation of Jyothish with his friends, or a funeral followed by a heartwarming sibling bonding session, or even the finale audition at the hospital that fills you up with a lot of emotions, the moments are sweetened to your taste buds while keeping you engaged with the journey of the protagonist. In other words, the conflicts and resolutions are simple even as a subtle social commentary on acceptance co-exists between layers of this slice of life drama, resulting in a wonderful little watch.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational but play an integral role in conveying the insecurities of the protagonist in the drama with respect to his mannerisms. The BGM adds to the breezy nature of the drama while also accounting for the emotional moments in the narrative, wonderfully. The cinematography comprises of frames that keep you emotionally invested in the journey of the protagonist, making you empathetic towards him without victimizing him in your head. The editing pattern is largely good minus a few stray lags with respect to certain subplots that feel manipulative in a way, and guilty only adding crucial minutes to the overall runtime of the film. Maybe a tauter runtime of say 100 odd minutes would have enhanced the impact of the drama even more. Director Akhil Anilkumar scores wonderfully with his narrative style here. His ability to sandwich the social commentary between a slice of life drama is exceptional, a trait that doesn’t weigh down the drama or veer it into a preachy territory. And in the process, his characterization, particularly that of the protagonist is really good, making the viewers emotionally invested in his journey.
Performances
The performances are wonderful by the members of the cast. Prasant Murali as Vinayak (a nepotism clan member) is hilarious to the core. Abhiram Radhakrishnan as Shine is competent and does a superb job. Sam Mohan as Vimal is sincere and earnest while putting forth a commendable act, as is Sarath Sabha as Ganesh despite a limited screen time. Muhammed Rafi as Kilavan, Manoj Moses as Minnal and Vishnu Reghu as Sudheesh are colourful characters that contribute wonderfully to the texture of the drama. And I liked how their collective character arc made for a beautiful cinematic moment in the film. Athira Maryam as Jyothi is well within herself while contributing to the emotional core of the drama really well.
Ashokan as Kanappan is hilarious as the filmy father of the protagonists. His antics are ticklish and they will put a smile on your face. Devadarshini Chetan as Asha scores well with her expressions and antics of angst, even while harbouring an empathetic outlook towards her son. Revathy Sarma as Sandhya has a charming presence onscreen with such expressive eyes that makes her instantly affable. She remains well restrained here while emoting superbly, so much so that you feel her raw emotions towards Jyothish. She was a treat to witness here.
Arjun Ashokan as Jyothish delivers yet another brilliant performance here. There are layers of insecurity and suppressed angst to Jyothish, something that Arjun beautifully conveys through his expressions. There is a softness in his character that is beautifully tapped into, while allowing you space to emotionally invest in his journey.
Conclusion
Thalavara is a heartfelt ‘underdog’ slice of life drama with incredible performances that gently tugs the strings of your heart while leaving you teary eyed with a smile on your face by the end of it. Available on Amazon Prime.