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Critics Review
2.00
Biju Menon's cop film fails with negative message
The film�s non-linear storytelling gets so long and confusing that it�s only much later you realise that you are still being told about an old incident. On the whole, Thundu offers a bit of novelty in the cop story genre and has some humorous moments, but it lacks a compelling story. Also troublingly, the film has negative depictions that are wrapped in humour to make them seem okay. At least some sections of the audience might not appreciate it.(more)
Source: Anna Mathews, Times Of India
1.00
Biju Menon, Shine Tom Chacko film will gauge your patience level at the cost of a ticket
However, Biju Menon makes an effort to elevate Thundu to some extent with his charm, decently portraying Baby�s helplessness even in less compelling scenes. He once again wears the police uniform with finesse, providing viewers with some relief. Shine Tom Chacko, on the other hand, surprises with his restrained performance, steering clear of the irritating persona he exhibits in real-life interviews. His efforts would have been more rewarding with a deeper character. Despite attempts by Raffi, Sajin Cherukayil, Zhinz Shan, and Shaju Sreedhar to inject humour at times, their scope is limited.(more)
Source: Anandu Suresh, Indian Express
1.00
Where focus goes for a toss
Biju Menon�s Baby is a peculiar person. Though he comes from a seemingly happy family comprising a teacher wife and teenage son, you hardly see a smile on his face. But he�s not tough either. He�s just hopeless and low on confidence. Towards the end, there�s an effort to understand him better and it turns out to be a wonderfully written and performed scene. It is also one of the few scenes where the intended mood is aptly conveyed. Throughout the film, there are several scenes where we see the director failing to convey the mood of the situation. Take for instance, the scene where a broken Naveen remembers his dead dog. It�s a poignant moment, which within a flash of a second transitions into a celebratory dance number. As an audience, we are left wondering how to react.(more)
Source: Vignesh Madhu, The New Indian Express
2.00
Biju Menon's drama runs out of ideas to stay engrossing
When a lot of things go wrong in a film, it is hard to pin it down to one or two factors. But a few things do stick out sorely, like the scene transitions in Riyas Shereef�s Thundu. Some transitions are so illogical that there is even a song which starts out on a sad philosophical note, with a policeman wallowing in misery, which then transitions two minutes later into a party song with all the fellow policemen dancing their heart out, for no reason at all. ALSO READ �Bramayugam� movie review: Mammootty�s performance elevates this middling film on the evils of unrestricted power At other places, sequences are cut abruptly with even the background score coming to a jarring halt and shifting to the next cue. Speaking of helpful background cues, there is no dearth of such nudges to give us a clue about what we are supposed to feel in each scene. If not for these helpful musical cues, we might find it hard to recognise some of the supposedly humourous tracks in this movie. The makers should also have considered adding some canned laughter, like they do with some television shows, because the audience were really struggling to laugh. Thundu is built on a very thin premise, of a policeman taking a leaf out of his son�s book and resorting to cheating in a promotion examination. Constable Baby (Biju Menon), who has served long years in the police force, wants to move up so that he no longer has to bear slights from some of his superiors. But, this doesn�t go as he planned, and he lands in one trouble after another, everything from road accidents to the suspected pregnancy of a police dog, all of which are supposed to be funny. �Thundu� (Malayalam) Director: Riyas Shereef Cast: Biju Menon, Shine Tom Chacko, Unnimaya Prasad, Gokulan Run-time: 126 minutes Storyline: A policeman resorts to cheating in a promotion examination, but things don�t go as planned Engaging films have been made from seemingly simple ideas, but Thundu clearly is not one of those. The narrative, which remains stuck for most parts, is then loaded with a collage of ideas to tease out laughter. Much of it ends up failing spectacularly. Character development is mostly absent, especially evident in how actors like Shine Tom Chacko and Unnimaya Prasad are reduced to doing almost the same things throughout the movie. A late attempt is made to bring some sort of background to explain Constable Baby�s character, but even this does not work. Most of the actors sleepwalk through their roles, for the script does not demand much of them. ALSO READ �Aavesham� teaser: Fahadh Faasil, Jithu Madhavan promise a wacky ride The film fails to excite at any point, so that even the short runtime of around 120 minutes feels stretched. Other than some novel ideas on how to cheat in an examination using creatively hidden bits of paper, Thundu has nothing new to offer. If only there were similar shortcuts to make an engrossing film.(more)
Source: Praveen, The Hindu