Later childhood friends Parameswaran Potti (Saiju Kurup) and Abdullah meet unexpectedly. A chance meeting between the better-off Potty and Abdullah on their way to meet Ramkumar Nair (Vijay Babu), their friend from years ago for business purposes, hints at something not-so-clean going on between the three.
Most of the film shifts to the Munthiya beach resort of Saketam or Akotiya- Saket, where Raman nenna Ramkumar, his wife Maithili and their assistant Pavana Putra Bhete reside. This is where Abdullah’s account book opens.
In a flashback to an Eid in 1993, Abdullah’s father, Bashir Maraykar, owns the land where the resort stands. Abdallah, the only surviving member of the family, consisting of his father, mother and two sisters, was left to ask for an account of a huge loss and make a ‘judgment’.
The ‘imaginary’ which is written as a guarantee before the start of the film, but if we look at the story and the period of the film, it cannot go without mentioning that it tells a lot of political and social emotions on a different level. The screenplay deals with yesterday and today in many ways and weights.
Malayalam cinema has been buzzing with the return of caste names of characters that have been forgotten for some time now. There is no Nair, Potti, Maraykar or Menon but these characters don’t seem to have any other problems reaching the target audience. If the full names of characters like Dusshassana Kurup and Shikhandi Pillai in the film ‘Panchavadi Palam’, which told politics with the accompaniment of circus years ago, had a mission, one has to wonder if it is necessary in a film told through the characters of this era.
The caste of the characters is relevant here only as an avoidable short cut to get there, while the important aim is to try to tell how the powerless can triumph over deception.
With the return of Rathish Ambat and Murali Gopi, who framed the mega canvas ‘Kammarasambhavam’, apart from the subject matter of the film, the audience can expect the technology as well. Most of the scenes that take place in the main museum at Akodiya-Saket, which is a resort but oozes luxury, are not as grand as the ‘Kammarasambhava’. Therefore, the expected response of the film is not hindered by the possibility of OTT as in the theatre.
After ‘Janaganamana’, which spoke clearly about politics, the hero named Prithviraj presents another theme that is very close to what he said then through Murali Gopi’s screenplay. ‘Theerp’ is a film that adequately explores Murali Gopi’s knack for presenting political observations through symbolism. Dubbed as a mainstream cinema experiment, it is doubtful that any attention has been lost somewhere in the scenes that have come together to bring the film to the mainstream format. A very loud background disrupts the natural flow.
There is also a scene where many of the exhibits in the Akodya-Saket Museum come together to advance the story. Rama’s museum is another one of the celebrated in the news ‘Tipu Sultan’s Throne’ and ‘Amshavadi’ built by the carpenter of Cherthala. Abdullah drinking ‘Saddam Hussain’s favorite wine’, spitting out black tea faster than it was put down, and the scenes of him playing cricket with ‘Kapil Dev’s bat’ in the 1983 Cricket World Cup provide humorous moments to the film.
The fall of the crown on Basheer’s house, which evokes the grandeur of the past while taking the place for the resort, the lion-headed seal of the party referred to as the Laxman Sena, the shape of the flag and the sword-wielding followers, and the actions of those dressed as Mussolini and Hitler speak volumes through symbolism.
Meanwhile, those who tune in to see the combination scenes of the Indrajith-Prithviraj brothers coming together in a film after years may be disappointed. But Indrajith’s DIG Kalyan Menon is very crucial in the film. the character While the young heroes fill the lead roles, the performances of Siddique, Srikanth Murali, Shaju Sridhar and others cannot be missed. Although there are three main women, the decisive influence in the running of the story is confined to the male characters.
The film demands a deep reading on the part of the audience, several times; Between frames, between lines.
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