It is a hatrick for Tharun Moorthy. After the commercially and critically-acclaimed Operation Java and Saudi Vellakka, the filmmaker has scored massive at the field workplace with Thudarum, headlined by Mohanlal and Shobana.
Despite a predictable storyline, Tharun managed to attract in the crowds with the setting, therapy of the narrative and a few unbelievable performances. Thudarum is the story of a frequent man, ‘Benz’ Shanmughan (Mohanlal), a former battle grasp in the movie trade, whose life is thrown into disarray.
Tharun believes he was destined to do the movie as a result of producer M Renjith had been attempting to make this movie for round 12 years with Mohanlal and the movie was taken up by six administrators in these years. “I had written my first two films and was not sure if another person’s story might excite me. So I had decided that if I didn’t connect with the story I would not make it. But I loved the story [by KR Sunil],” says Tharun.
Tharun Moorthy with Mohanlal on the location of Thudarum
| Photo Credit:
Amal C Sadhar
A self-confessed Mohanlal fan, was he apprehensive about assembly the expectations of the actor’s followers? “There was pressure. But, thankfully, majority of his fans stood by my vision. I had interacted with his fans’ associations on this account. But the challenge I had was dealing with those who were misleading the audience with fan-made posters and imaginary content. We were all confident about the content. Even though we did not expect this level of success, we knew the film will strike a chord with the audience. We aimed at presenting a free-flowing narrative, from scene 1 to 92,” he says.
Tharun is fast to level out that there was no deliberate try to carry classic Mohanlal on display screen, referring to the buzz round the movie ever since filming began. “The only thing that Renjith chettan [producer Renjith] told me was that, if possible, let us bring the Mohanlal of Aye Auto in the first half. I tried and even included one of the dialogues from that movie, for instance, the famous line ‘Go to your classes.’”
Instead of making a classic model, the narrative weaved in a vary of feelings that Mohanlal has showcased with aplomb all through his profession. “Mischief, playfulness, romance, affection, love, downfall, fear, fury, revenge…. Shanmughan goes through all these emotions,” he says. His favorite scene? “The scene were Shanmughan breaks down in the bathroom. I told Lal sir to cry without covering his face and collapse in the space available. We didn’t expect him to fall that way. We all were stunned when he did that.”
Mohanlal and Shobana in Thudarum directed by Tharun Moorthy
| Photo Credit:
Amal C Sadhar
The dialog veers to his remark about ‘sleeper cell’ followers of Mohanlal that went viral on social media. “I never expected the comment to become so popular! I had asked my direction team whether the movie would work for the new generation. That’s when they mentioned those who have rooted for the actor in spite of his failures. They may not have gone to the theatre for many years and this film is for them, irrespective of their age. They are the sleeper cell fans,” says Tharun with a chortle.
The filmmaker observes that he and Sunil had been on the identical web page as the scriptwriters. The hardest to crack was the characters’ journey by way of the forest in a automotive. “Sunil had clarity about the mood, the ambience, the climate, and terrain. We had to work a lot on creating the setting — mist, darkness, festival, mystery of the forest…,” Tharun explains. The movie was shot over 99 days in Thodupuzha, Palakkad, Kambam, Theni, Chennai, Ranni and so forth.
Tharun Moorthy with Prakash Varma on the location of Thudarum
| Photo Credit:
Amal C Sadhar
The speaking level of Thudarum has been advert filmmaker Prakash Varma, who nailed it as the menacing antagonist, CI George Mathen. How did he discover him? “Divine intervention, perhaps. I wanted a new face, with a specific look – bald head and thick moustache. Sunil, a friend of Prakash for many years, felt that he might be suitable for that role. He clicked a few pictures of Prakash without his knowledge and sent them to me. Later we convinced him do the role. He didn’t want to end up as a liability. So we did an audition and screen test.”
Tharun provides that Prakash, who dubbed for the character as effectively, went by way of the identical course of as any new actor would do. What about the approach he says “Hello”? “That was our suggestion, and he was bang on.”
Prakash Varma in Thudarum
| Photo Credit:
Amal C Sadhar
Recently Jakes Bejoy, the movie’s composer, had talked about about Tharun’s contributions to the movie’s soundscape, particularly ‘the metaphorical references in the characters in music and sound’ – kombu and chenda for Shanmughan, nagapattu and violin motifs for George, and wolf howl for Benny (Binu Pappu), referring to the characters as a tusker, a snake and a wolf respectively. “The film has a close connection with forest and so I wanted to relate them to these animals, in accordance with the traits of these characters,” says Tharun.
On the movie’s finish be aware, ‘Mohanlal Thudarum’ (Mohanlal will proceed), Tharun says, “His story will continue. The character Shanmughan will live on, nursing his wounds. The idea came on the editing table.”
He says that a lot thought went into title design as effectively. “Thudarum is written in three ways — initially with no wounds, then with blood and wounds and finally with the sutures. People might probably take note of these only when they re-watch it. Even if they don’t, that’s ok. These ideas came out of our excitement for the movie.”
Mohanlal was concurrently capturing for Empuraan whereas appearing in Thudarum. “He slipped into Shanmughan, the common man, from Khureshi Ab’raam, the don, with so much ease. That comes from 47 years of experience.”
The filmmaker provides that he chooses to disregard the discussions evaluating the two films. “I am impressed by the visual scape of Empuraan. The scale at which Raju [actor-director Prithviraj] mounted the movie opened the market for Malayalam cinema in other languages. Empuraan is a big reason for Thudarum getting a big opening and entry into other markets.”
The chat is incomplete with out point out of Binu Pappu, a mainstay in Tharun’s profession. “I think this is his best performance till date.” Tharun has already introduced his subsequent challenge, Torpedo, written by Binu and starring Fahadh Faasil, Arjun Das, Naslen Gafoor and Ganapathi.
Published – May 07, 2025 03:15 pm IST
