Thandel Movie Review

Naga Chaitanya, who is going through a rough phase in his career with three (i.e. Thank You, Laal Singh Chaddha(extended cameo) and Custody) back-to-back flops, has teamed up with Chandoo Mondeti, who delivered a blockbuster with Karthikeya 2, for Thandel. The film has Sai Pallavi as the female lead, who delivered a blockbuster with Naga Chaitanya earlier with ‘Love Story’ and Geetha Arts as a production house that gave a blockbuster to Naga Chaitanya with ‘100% Love’. Songs scored by Devi Sri Prasad for the film are ruling the playlists already. Did Naga Chaitanya score a blockbuster with Thandel and end his rough phase? Did Sai Pallavi and Geetha Arts continue their success streak with Naga Chaitanya? Did Chandoo Mondeti score yet another blockbuster with Karthikeya 2? Let’s find out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Thandel Raju(Naga Chaitanya) along with twenty-one other fishermen gets captured by Pakistani police and put in jail. Why did Raju and his team of fishermen cross the border in the sea? What is Raju’s relationship with Satya(Sai Pallavi)? How did Satya fight for justice for Raju and the team and bring them back to India? Forms the rest of the story along with an intense love story between Raju and Satya.

Performances:

Naga Chaitanya delivered his best performance to date in Thandel. He looked very self-assured and confident throughout the film. His performance in the emotional outburst sequence during the pre-climax of the film deserves a special mention. His look and performance remind us of Nagarjuna from Geethanjali in the aforementioned emotional outburst sequence.

The role of Satya is a tailor-made role for Sai Pallavi. She delivered a very good performance as well. The way she expressed love, affection & every other emotion through her eyes was a treat to watch. Her dance moves along with Naga Chaitanya in the ‘Namo Namah Shivaya’ song are first-rate.

Tamil actor, Karunakaran got a good supporting role and he did well. Prakash Belawadi as the Jailer in Pakistan is just ok. His character is poorly written and executed. Prithviraj in the role of father to Sai Pallavi did a good job. There’s one emotional sequence on him that worked very well. Mahesh Achanta & Aadukalam Naren as fellow fishermen to Raju delivered a good performance. Both the actors complimented Naga Chaitanya well during the pre-climax sequence.

Technicalities:

Devi Sri Prasad’s soul-stirring songs and background score are the major highlights of the film. All the songs looked superb on screen and the background score elevated many sequences throughout the film. Hands down, Thandel is Devi Sri Prasad’s best work in recent times. Shamdat’s cinematography is first-rate. The way he captured the ocean and his frames during the songs are very commendable.

Production design by Srinagendra Tangala deserves a special mention. Naveen Nooli’s editing should have been better, especially in the first half. The sequence transformation from the love story to other subplots in the first hand looked jarred & abrupt. At least ten minutes of editing would have helped the film to become a bit more engaging.

Production values by Geetha Arts are excellent. The amount of money spent on the film was very visible on the screen and gave the film a very colourful & grand look. Chandoo Mondeti’s direction and screenplay are uneven. Let’s discuss his work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1. Naga Chaitanya & Sai Pallavi’s Performance
2. Devi Sri Prasad’s Music
3. Pre-Interval & Pre-Climax Sequences
4. Cinematography
5. Production Design
6. Choreography In Namo Namah Shivaya Song

Negatives:

1. Lack of Strong Emotional Connect
2. Beaten to Death Screenplay
3. Slow Pace
4. Inconsistency In Direction

Analysis:

Great performances from the lead actors, very good music and an emotionally charged gripping screenplay are the three essential ingredients for an emotional love story to work big time. In Thandel, two out of the three aforementioned ingredients worked out so well and tried their best to cover the shortcomings of the third ingredient, i.e. an emotionally charged gripping screenplay.

The very opening sequence in the film discloses the core conflict point of the first half. When the core conflict point is disclosed at the beginning, the film needs a very tight and dripping screenplay to sustain the audience’s attention. And, this is where the director, Chandoo Mondeti and the team struggled. What we get to see are a few very well-executed sequences along with many dragged sequences without proper emotional connection. Devi Sri Prasad and the lead pair did their best to evoke & sustain the emotional connection but the lack of strong writing did not complement their work well.

There’s a lot of potential to explore in the subject of the film but the half-hearted writing & direction, especially during the proceedings in Pakistan jail, pulled down the overall feel of the film. A gripping narration with a few emotionally charged sequences related to patriotism and at least ten minutes of editing during the first half would have done wonders for the film.

However, Chandoo Mondeti succeeded in extracting very good performances from his lead paid and equally very good output from all his technicians. A major credit should be given to Devi Sri Prasad. He put his blood and soul into the film with music. Also, the choreography in the ‘Namo Namah Shivaya’ Song deserves special mention. The song was shot and choreographed very well and it looked great on screen.

Overall, Thandel definitely has positives that worked in the favour of the film and it is a decent film to watch in theatres. However, a better screenplay and tight writing would have made the film very engaging.

Bottomline: Thandel – Lead Pair & Music Worked

Rating: 2.75/5