Thudarum Review

Thudarum (2025) - Movie: What's Behind

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is known for his riveting and impactful performances. People cannot forget his performances in films like  Manyam Puli, Drishyam, Lucifer and L2-Empuraan. 

Puli Murugan which turned out to be a hit on Malayalam was released in Telugu as Manyam Puli and it turned out to be hit here also. However, the makers of his next films, seems to have taken Telugu viewers for granted and started releasing them with the same title like L2-Empuraan. 

He is now coming up with another thriller titled Thudrum. The film directed by Tharun Moorthy is releasing on 25 April 2025. Thudarum OTT rights have been acquired by Jio Hotstar and streaming will be after the completion of its theatrical run. Let us find out how Mohanlal captivated viewers with Thudarum.

Thudarum (2025) Movie: Story Review

Thudarum story revolves around a taxi driver and his unflinched love and affection towards his old Ambassador car and how he handles the pressures from his family members and society to part away with this precious possession.

Banz aka Shanmugam (Mohanlal) makes his living as a taxi driver in the peaceful and quite hilltown of Ranni, Pathanamthitta and he is extremely passionate about his old ambassador car. But his love for his ageing ambassador car comes with surprising twists and turns. Where this leads to and how it is connected to his wife Lalitha Shanmugham (Sobhana), Ci George (Prakash Varma), Inspector Benny (Binu Pappu),Pavi (Thomas Mathew), Sudheesh(Farhaan Faasil), Kuttychan (Maniyanpilla Raju), Manikandadaasan aka MKD (Irshad Ali), Mary (Aarsha Chandini Baiju), Seema (Krishna Prabha), Manian(Abin Bino), Maniyan's father (Sobhi Thilakan) form the interesting part in the narration.

Thudarum (2025) Movie: Artists Review

Mohanlal performed well in the role. He brought in all his experience to show variations in his role. He showed good expressions and emoted accordingly. He elevated the scenes with his performance. Mohanlal also enacted stunts to delight all his fans as it looked to them, that Vintage Mohanlal is back. He delivered dialogues with ease and in an effective manner.

Sobhana made her presence felt performing in a subtle manner. She emoted well in the pre climax sequences. Prakash Varma makes a powerful impact as the antagonist. On debut, he came up with terrific performance. He showed good body language and Mendiratta mannerisms and leaves all surprised.

Others like Farhaan Faasil, Maniyanpilla Raju, Binu Pappu, Irshad Ali, Aarsha Chandini Baiju, Thomas Mathew, Krishna Praba, Aravind performed according to their roles.

Thudarum (2025) Movie: Technicians Review

Thudarum story is penned by KR Sunil, Tharun Moorthy and is helmed by Tharun Moorthy. Tharun Moorthy tried to thrill movie lovers with his revenge drama. He generates interest with his narration. He starts off highlighting the bonding in the family of the protagonist and the narration takes a surprising twist to excite all.

However Tharun Moorthy with all his experience, then on turned the narration into a predictable one. Instead of highlighting the mindgames like in Drishyam and others, he chose the most convenient route, including the action sequences which of late, Malayalam makers are becoming obsessed to.

The action elements may appeal to masses but they looked unrealistic for all the effort. He showed Mohanlal in a raw and mass avatar. Though his fans love it, it was overdone and Mohanlal's mannerisms was subdued and diminished completely. The way narration shifts from the family drama to a thriller surprises all and makes one wonder what the director is up to. The story had similarities to Mohanlal's earlier films like Drishyam.

The background music of Jakes Bejoy elevated the scenes to another level. He made an impact with his BGM. His music is ok. Shaji Kumar's cinematography gave the realistic feel to the narration and connected chords with the movie lovers. The editing of Shafeeque VB and Nishadh Yusuf is ok. Production values are good.

Thudarum Movie: Advantages

• Mohanlal
• Few Twists
• Cinematography
• BGM

Thudarum Movie: Disadvantages

• Predictable Elements
• Slow Pace
• Similarities

Thudarum (2025) Movie: Rating Analysis

Altogether, Thudarum turns out to be a decent crime thriller. Tharun Moorthy showed Vintage Mohanlal on the screen and got the optimum out of the superstar. 

But in his tryst to elevate Mohanlal's heroism, he missed few logics and the forced commercial elements diluted the interesting twists and turns in the script. Had Tharun Moorthy balanced both Mohanlal's stardom and the surprises in the story, Thudarum would have made a terrific impact. 

To the top of it, the makers released the film in Telugu with the same title and many cannot pronounce it properly and are unaware of the title meaning. Though the makers have taken due care regarding the film's dubbing in Telugu, had they come up with interesting Telugu title, things would have been different. 

It is altogether different case that Manjummel Boys and Premalu released with the same titles. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 2.5 rating for Thudarum.