Thandel, produced by Geetha Arts, was released in theatres today. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.
Plot:
Raju (Naga Chaitanya) is in trouble when he and nearly two dozen other fishermen from Srikakulam are captured by the Pakistan Navy for accidentally foraying into their waters. Raju's sweetheart, Satya aka Bujji Thalli (Sai Pallavi), is running out of time because her wedding date with Murali (Karunakaran) is fast approaching. What is the destiny of Raju and Satya? Will they have a reunion? Or, do they fall behind in the crosshairs of Indo-Pak tensions?
Post-Mortem:
Thandel would have been fine had it not been projected as a realistic, raw tale of Telugu fishermen finding redemption. The way the film was initially marketed, it felt that it is as much an adventure story as it is a love story. Thandel is good insofar as it's based on facts, but too convenient in its fictionalization of reality.
The scenes in the first half underscore feelings of love, longing and worry. Devi Sri Prasad's excellent score makes the film a musical love story here. The first act is essentially event-less, banking on the performances of the lead pair. Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi are immensely watchable in these segments. Two songs (read Hilesso Hilessa and Om Namah Shivay) play out in quick succession. The trajectory of the love story carries a strong emotional gravitas in the first hour. Although it is skewed (in the sense we get to understand the mind of Satya but not that of Raju), the writing is nuanced enough.
The second hour is where simplistic scenes abound. A key character resorts to the Gandhian mode of protest as Azadi, a montage song, plays in the background. The scenes in the Pakistani jail are not tense enough. They are clichéd and follow the template established by Nagarjuna's Azad. The jihadist character in the Pak jail is a stock character who barely looks real.
The film deals with the fallout of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 far too conveniently. Also, the Balakot strikes happened months earlier. How come this didn't affect the Indo-Pak relations more than the other epochal event? That's a complex question the film apparently ignores for its simple-minded narrational purposes.
The drama around Thandel, the leader of the fishermen, is written fairly well. The element of the fear of death hangs over but the same is not explored with depth. The numerous phone calls between Raju and Satya are staged well but there is no soul to it after a point.
Shamdat Sainuddin's cinematography is cool. The jail set looks real, although the scenes staged inside it are pretty unimaginative.
Closing Remarks:
Thandel works to an extent. The love story in the first half has soul. The second half is watered down by convenient scenes.
