One can painting a bunch concerned in a selected commerce or perhaps a group from an outsider’s perspective, or have a look at them as somebody from inside would do. In Thankam, steeped on the planet of the small-time brokers, workshop males and deliverers within the gold trade of Thrissur, director Saheed Arafath and scrip author Syam Pushkaran, select to do the latter. The music sequence in the course of the opening credit — a montage of each exercise on this trade a lot of which operates slightly below the radar — units the tone for what’s in retailer.
It’s a beautifully-crafted sequence which depicts the exact work, the dangers concerned, the expanse of the enterprise and the camaraderie between the principal gamers. When Kannan (Vineeth Sreenivasan), who delivers the completed gold to jewellers in numerous states, fastidiously ties a complete roll of paper full of gold bangles round his waist — as a precautionary measure earlier than his supply run — one will get an inkling of the perilous paths that he has to tread. It’s this path full of potentialities of deceit and backstabbing that Thankam is worried with.
Muthu (Biju Menon)‘s gold enterprise depends on Kannan’s straightforward appeal, with which he has constructed up a large community of contacts. The script is constructed round two incidents that occur throughout his gold run. The second incident, of Kannan going lacking in Mumbai with a substantial amount of gold, drives the movie. However we preserve coming again to the seemingly minor first occasion, of Kannan, Muthu and their buddy (Vineeth Thattil) touchdown within the police internet throughout a visit to Coimbatore. Features of their character, hitherto unknown, will get revealed as we go alongside, however a key side of one of many characters is saved for the final.
Thankam
Director: Saheed Arafath
Forged: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Biju Menon, Girish Kulkarni, Aparna Balamurali
However even with the little that we all know of them, we stay invested of their lives, nearly as a lot as they’re within the gold, because of how they’re written. The ladies (particularly Kannan’s spouse performed by Aparna Balamurali) although get under-written roles, with solely gold vendor Ambika (Indira Prasad) getting a robust half. Actor Kochupreman, who handed away lately, will get one of the crucial memorable strains within the film.
The movie takes off as a police procedural with the arrival of a Mumbai police workforce led by an in a position officer (Girish Kulkarni in a brilliantly-essayed position). The investigation, whereas specializing in the whodunnit, can also be about letting us into the intricacies of the commerce and new aspects of the characters. Humour retains popping up even amid the grimness of questioning and tailing the suspects, with the narrative infrequently shedding its maintain on us.
This almost-stranglehold and the expectations constructed up by way of an investigation throughout geographies can have its negatives, as the massive reveal in the long run might be much less satisfying, relying on which manner you have a look at it. Taking a look at it purely as an investigative thriller, what we get in the long run could be a downer, however as a personality examine of somebody who exhibits solely one of the best components of his life to these near him, it’s a winner. However the journey until that time is dealt with masterfully, whichever manner you have a look at it.
Thankam is presently operating in theatres
