Introduction
I have always been a big fan of horror comedy; whenever any such movie is released, I must watch it. But this time, my excitement was next level because Thamma was not only a horror comedy but also one of my favorite Actors, Ayushmaan Khurrana’s movies. I’m the biggest fan of Ayushmaan and have seen almost all his movies. I was willing to watch the first day first show, which I did, and true to my expectation, the movie was outstanding. It is the fifth installment in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, which includes the most entertaining movies such as Stree, Bhediya, and Munjya.
Story
The movie revolves around a journalist named Alok Goyal(Ayushmaan Khurrana) who is saved from a bear attack by a mysterious woman from a tribe of vampire-like creatures and must later protect humanity after he becomes one of them. Despite her clan’s strict rule against associating with humans, Tadaka(Rashmika Mandanna) falls for Alok. She follows him back to the city, where she struggles to adjust to human life. The movie took an interesting turn when Alok was captured and offered as a sacrifice to the ancient betaal leader, Yakshasan. Tadaka defies her tribe to save him, and later Alok transformed into a betaal himself.
Performance
Justifying the powerful theme of the movie, the performance of the cast is damn good. Ayushmaan, as always, wonderfully portrayed his role as a historian. His acting skills are outstanding and took the movie to the next level. On the other hand, Rashmika Mandanna’s performance didn’t impress me much as her Hindi dialogues were not so clear. Apart from them, the other supportive cast, like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Faisal Khan, have done a great job to make the movie a big hit. Especially Siddiqui’s strong villainous performance added a charm, which I really enjoyed in the overall movie.
Cinematography & Music
Saurabh Goswami’s cinematography, complemented by the VFX work of DNEG, has established the film’s gothic and mythical tone. Especially the forest scenes and betaal transformation are outstanding and clearly show the hard work and efforts made by Saurabh to make the scenes appealing. The vibrant greens and dark, mystical hues have beautifully highlighted the central theme of humanity versus myths. The background music is outstanding and well-suited to each scene, and enhances the experience of horror in the movie. The tracks “Tum Mere Na Hue” and “ Rahein Na Rahein Hum” have an unforgettable emotional texture and beautiful melody, which I still hum. Apart from cinematography and music, I must say that the editing is also wonderful, and overall background technical efforts have made the movie full paisa vasool for me.
Final Words
Lastly, I would say the movie is worth watching for people who love horror comedies like me. It will not disappoint Ayushmaan’s fans either, as his wonderful acting truly adds a spark to the film, making it a worthwhile watch. The first half of the movie is good, but the second half is outstanding. I really enjoyed the powerful villainous role played by Nawaz, who made the movie even more captivating. It all culminates in a Betaal versus Betaal, where Alok and Tadka must confront the powerful Yakshasan, who aims to wipe out humanity, a truly fascinating twist for horror lovers.