Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

Thondimuthalum Drisakshiyum was probably the most anticipated film of the year as everyone had great expectations from the team that delivered Maheshinte Prathikaram. And the result is indeed a positive one if you were able to enjoy Maheshinte Prathikaram because of its realness and subtle nature. While that film had a conventional story structure, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum is more of a character exploration and that doesn’t mean just the central protagonists. With realness oozing in each frame Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum stays in your head.

Prasad is this young farmer who has moved to Kasargod along with his wife Sreeja after their inter caste marriage. During a bus journey a thief steals Sreeja’s gold chain which had the Thali. And before one could do something, the thief swallows it. Thondimuthalum Drisakshiyum is built around this case were the police are trying to get the gold chain, which the accused has denied of taking. How this case moves forward is what we get to see.

It is not precisely that point A to point B kind of movie where we get a clear structure of a happy ending story. While 90% of the movie is built like a suspense drama trying to unveil the mysterious behavior of the thief, by the end of the film we sort of get to see the character arch of many characters who come on the screen.  In the natural flow of the events that happen on screen we get to see a lot of things that establishes bitter truths and character behaviors. The relationship of Sreeja and Prasad is built just like a normal couple and the frustrations and pressures are affecting them. I liked the scene were the writers teased the honor concerned parents and how they utilized it to strengthen bond of the couple. After action hero Biju, we get to see an actual police station with a very realistic depiction. The character of the thief was built in a way we sort of agree in the climax with Prasad, when he asks him “What kind of a man are you?” The open end nature of that character might disturb those who demands clarity and I prefer to view it as a character trait.

Fahadh Faasil gets an intro with us seeing only his eyes. Well for an actor with such expressive eyes, that was more than enough and the guy gets in to the skin of that thief with ease. His rendering was so good that even we as an audience gets confused like the characters in the movie in judging his behavior. The next CPC or Movie Street debate could well be about understanding this character by backtracking all the things he said in the film. Suraj Venjaramood gets a chance to play a character without any sort of eccentric tones and he was very good in that.  Nimisha Sajayan was also true to the character. Srinda has dubbed for the character and in certain close up shots we can sense a little bit of jitter. Alencier Ley plays the role of a police officer who goes through an emotional turmoil during the investigation and he also manages to strike the chord perfectly. The makers had put out a casting call notice looking for real life police officers and I must say that the decision was a great one. SI played by Sibi Thomas and the actors who played the role of CI, the policeman who never wears uniform and the policeman who loses his way during the search deserves to be mentioned. Rest of the cast also looks perfect to be those characters.

Realness in treatment was something that got associated with Dileesh Pothan’s name after Maheshinte Prathikaram. Well the director makes this one even more interesting by extracting some genuinely hilarious moments from situations that might look dull. It was so nice to see a movie that blurs the line between the so called off beat and main stream cinema in terms of treatment and content. Even after being a movie built over a theft case, it manages to touch a lot of issues including the mob behavior, the caste based discriminations and many other things. Even the solar panels and that scene were two people are arguing over a mobile tower looks to have a purpose. Sajeev Pazhoor has managed to include the nuances of an investigation very neatly and the dialogues he has written along with Syam Pushkaran only makes it more real. Like I mentioned in the beginning, by the time the film ends we will have a more elaborate picture about the thief, Prasad, Sreeja, the SI, the police officer played by Alencier. Even that guy who brings water to the police station stays in your head. Rajeev Ravi manages to add that anxiety and curiosity in to the frames. His ability to grab the scene by making the viewer feel like a spectator really works in favor of the film. BGM is minimal and effective. Kannile Poika song is probably one of the best songs to have come out this year. Edits were impressive.

A comparison with Dileesh Pothan’s first movie won’t be a good idea as the similarity is only there in treatment of certain portions. Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum has a better character study in my opinion and it is a movie that demands its viewers to unravel some characters by themselves.

Rating: 4/5

By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.

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