Oru Thekkan Thallu Case: Another ego clash saga

Men engaging in brawls for redemption of their fragile egos is a trope that is getting redundant in Malayalam. We have films made about men exchanging blows set in possibly every district in Kerala and every time period. Oru Thekkan Thallu Case set in Anjuthengu of 80s, directed by a debutant N. Sreejith is the newest addition to that list.

Oru thekkan thallu case

Anjuthengu is a quaint little place surrounded by tall coconut trees set beautifully by Dileep Nath and captured with a special magic in Madhu Neelakandan’s camera. It has the quintessential quirky characters and a marketplace where everything happens. But it is stories that run this village. They spread like wildfires. They are feared. They make or break a legend. One such fabled 45-minute brawl made Ammini pillai (Biju Menon) a 125 feet all-seeing God. It’s when this God starts meddling in the lowly lives of some young men led by Podiyan, a fine Roshan Mathew who plays a man who hides his insecurities in violence, that the stakes rise.

Ammini is a man of light. Ammini stands alone towering above the village showing light and directing everyone to the metaphorical shore just like the lighthouse he works in. He fights in day light and comes home to the warm light his Rukmini, a resplendent Padmapriya radiates. And Podiyan like a good nemesis, thrives in darkness. He kisses Vasanti (Nimisha Sajayan) in dark corners, fights in the darkness and he hides a significant part of the film in dark mangroves. This contrast is established early on when we see a crosscut of the two couples making out to Janakiamma’s iconic Nadha nee varum. All Ammini’s downfalls and Podiyans triumphs happen in the shroud of darkness. This consistency makes a shot of sun hidden behind the lighthouse emerging premonitory. The film shines in such moments.

Rukmini with her unabashed rustic charm is an absolute diva. In stories about men’s egos, the women are usually assigned the role of being the bridge between the warring men. But here Rukmini stands her ground. The sequence of a fish fry turning into fight between them and the reason behind it is a delight to watch. Men in Anjuthengu do not like being told what to do. Rukmini is a woman aware of her beauty, brain and brawn and uses them to get things done her way.

But such moments are far and in between. There is almost indistinguishable four (or is it five?) sidekicks that Ammini must conquer before reaching Podiyan. We get to the men only in the context of the fight. The southern slang is as inconsistent as the quirky characters that come and go as they please. The songs with lyrics in an often-mocked slang fits beautifully here, but the BGM tries to overcompensate for the not so funny jokes. Vasanti and Podiyan’s relationship isn’t explored enough. And the length felt a tad bit too much.

Our thekkan thallu case is an honest attempt by a director whose love for Trivandrum oozes throughout it. But Ammini and Podiyan’s thallu remains just another thallu with a thekkan flair. And I like the villagers of Anjuthengu crowded to see an epic fight was left wanting for the punches to hit harder and wounds to cut deeper.