Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, is a city known for its ardent love for gold. With over 2,000 workshops that make gold ornaments, Thrissur supplies more than 80 per cent of the gold ornaments sold in Kerala. Gold ornaments made in Thrissur are sold not just in Kerala, but in other states, as well. The journey that certain gold agents of Thrissur make to supply the product (read unaccounted gold) to other state businesses got a nickname—‘gold ride’. Thankam (which means gold in Malayalam) is a movie that investigates a tragedy faced by a gold agent named Kannan (Vineeth Sreenivasan), who had gone on a gold ride to Mumbai.
The one-liner of the plot looks simple; however, Thankam had a narrative that was not easily executable. The plot development happens mainly in three locations—Thrissur, Coimbatore and Mumbai. And, its characters speak five different languages. Also, the nuances of the gold business are not something that common people are familiar with. All these challenges were handled decently by director Saheed Arafat and writer Syam Pushkaran to build up a decent murder mystery.
The film starts at a slow pace. As it enters into an investigation phase, the pacing gets better. Pushkaran has a great talent for integrating dry-wit into serious moments; he has shown that skill in Thankam's script, too.
The film is, in a way, formulaic—it uses some of the most common tropes in murder mystery films such as a mysterious injury, a go-getter and keen investigator and an absent murderer. The film is almost a success in taking the audience also in a ride along with the investigators to solve the tragedy faced by Kannan. It also has a final deduction scene where the investigator would finally puts all the missing pieces together. Then there is another commonly used trope of murder mysteries which is used in the climax of the film. But revealing it would be a spoiler. As the film enters its final act, this reviewer, however, felt a sudden drop of energy—a kind of sluggish treatment that killed the thrill!
Vineeth Sreenivasan was an apt choice for the character of Kannan. His inherent innocence and warm smile are used effectively to create an image of Kannan in the audience's collective mind. Kannan is presented as an overtly religious person—who would even subject his body to a controversial temple ritual, garudan thookkam. Religious faith is a coping mechanism for many who are in financial hardship and psychological distress. However, Thankam does not make Kannan’s big financial troubles obvious to the audience until the final act. And, this made it hard for this reviewer to connect or empathise totally with Kannan and the fatally absurd decisions in his life.
Muthu (Biju Menon) who plays the role of Kannan’s partner has the maximum screentime in Thankam. Menon, who is one of the finest actors in contemporary Malayalam cinema, essays his character—which demands controlled acting—with ease. However, it is two-time national award winner Girish Kulkarni (who plays a Maharashtra cop) and Vineeth Thattil David (who plays the role of a friend of Muthu) who steal the show in Thankam. Aparna Balamurali, who plays the wife of Kannan, does not have much screen time. However, she has some fine emotional moments in the plot. And, she delivers them perfectly.
The background score of the film was kind of irritating, overdramatic and loud at certain junctures. Editing and creating the final form of this film was not an easy task. Though the film follows a linear narrative, it does have a slew of flashbacks. And, editor Kiran Das decently integrated them into the plot without many jumps or jerks.
Bhavana Studios which created critically-acclaimed movies like Kumbalangi Nights and Joji—and is jointly owned by director Dileesh Pothan, actor Fahadh Faasil and Pushkaran—produced Thankam. The film does have an interesting premise, however, it is unlikely to become a film that will earn a place on par with the previous films from Bhavana Studios.
Thankam director: Saheed Arafath
Thankam caste: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Biju Menon, Aparna Balamurali, Girish Kulkarni, Vineeth Thattil David
Thankam rating: 3/5