Johny Antony's 'Thaappaana' is more of an assemblage of parts and pieces that we have seen in other movies. The film mashes them together and neatly lays out the assortment before us, which appears quite messy.
Samson (Mammootty), out from jail after serving a sentence of four years, is excited to see a beautiful Mallika (Charmi Kaur) emerging out of the women's jail. Possibilities of a romance spurt in Samson's mind, and he accompanies her to her village, where surprises await him.
Sindhuraj's script plays total spoil sport here, and drags quite a while in the initial hour. Samson is besotted by Mallika, and even sings a song out in the streets, gaping at her photograph all the while. And in true Kollywood style, the passers by join in and shake legs with him.
The film is more of a road movie till about half way through, at least until Samson and Mallika reach Karippa. They meet one of Samson's old jail mates (Vijeesh) on the way, and off they go on a detour for a while. The efforts are on to prove that true love emerges a winner.
At Karippa, post-interval Samson assumes heroic proportions and gets ready for a head-to-head meeting with Kannu Kuttan. Things progress in a manner as predictable as they can be, before the dust bows up for a deafening climax. Thugs and goons get thrown this way and that before everything settles down, and the credits are cleared.
The man with massive powers arriving at an alien village and bringing about a change through his fists and fisticuffs is no new story in Malayalam. It has all been said a thousand times already, and there is hardly anything new about the presentation either!
I am totally clueless as to what made Mammootty accept 'Thaappaana'. Its not that he does injustice to the character as such, but it's the facileness of the role that he plays that is absolutely surprising. There are any number of films in which we have seen him essay similar roles, and 'Thaappaana' is sadly no exception.
When I think of those best moments in the film, one figure does tower over the rest, which is Muraly Gopi's. He seems to be getting better with each film, and as the ruthless ruffian in 'Thaappaana', he is dynamite. His steely stare, grimace and scowls make him one of the best villains of the year, no doubt.
The problem isn't that the characters or the story in 'Thaappaana' are way too simple. The real issue lies in the fact that these characters never really become three dimensional that would make you want to reach out to them. There is plenty of stuff going on, no doubt, but none that would make you feel that a royal elephant is on the rampage out there!
Rating : 3/5 - Hit
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