Thandel Movie Review
Thandel Movie Review
Telugu360 Rating: 2.75/5
Story: ‘Thandel’ follows the story of Raju (Naga Chaitanya), a fisherman whose profession at sea becomes a source of constant fear for his fiancée, Sathya (Sai Pallavi). Satya, Raju’s childhood friend turned lover, urges him to give up his risky fishing trips after their marriage. However, during one of his final ventures, Raju and his Thandel team accidentally cross into Pakistani waters. They are captured by Pakistani forces and imprisoned. The rest of the film focuses on Satya’s relentless efforts to secure Raju’s release from the Pakistani jail.
Analysis: Thandel attempts to strike a balance between a heartfelt love story and a patriotic narrative. The film begins slowly, feeling unengaging for the first hour, with the director appearing uncertain about pacing the story. The initial focus is on Satya (Sai Pallavi) and her anxiety over her fiancé Raju’s fishing profession. However, the film gains momentum with an impressive interval sequence and a plot twist. The songs Hilessaa, Namo Namassivaya, and Bujji Talli further elevate the film with their melodious compositions and visually appealing presentation. Second half has relatively better cinematic experience in terms of patriotism as well as love track. Sai Pallavi’s characterization appeals to the family audience. The script cleverly weaves real-life events, such as Article 370 and India-Pakistan tensions, into the narrative. The storyline has some potential to be promoted nationwide, like the recent hit Amaran. There was plenty of opportunity to include unique, unconventional scenes set in Pakistan, but the director chose to stick to a routine, crowd-pleasing approach.
Performances: Naga Chaitanya fully represents the role of fisherman Raju, with his natural beard and appearance perfectly suiting the character. His on-screen chemistry with Sai Pallavi is convincing and engaging. Sai Pallavi’s role is a perfect match for her, and she delivers a strong performance within her comfort zone. Both actors dubbed their own voices, but their Srikakulam dialect lacks a natural flow.
Technical Departments: Devisri Prasad’s music is the lifeline of the film. The background score lacks uniqueness, primarily relying on the repetition of the film’s song melodies. The sound mixing ( by Hebin , Shreyas and Rajakrishnan) in the initial few reels is poorly executed, with the voices mixed into the background music tracks. Production values by Geetha Arts are adequate, could have been better. Director Chandoo Mondeti had a strong story in hand but couldn’t quite elevate it to the next level.
Positives:
Naga Chaitanya, Sai Pallavi’s on-screen chemistry
Devisri’s Soulful songs, picturization
Chay, Sai Pallavi performance
Story does not deviate from the core point
Negatives:
First one hour of the film
Direction could have been much better
Few scenes in Pakistan are too cinematic
Verdict: Thandel is a serious film that incorporates patriotic elements in its second half, soulful songs in the first half. The script blends real-life events like Article 370 and India-Pakistan tensions into the storyline. Both Sai Pallavi and Chay Akkineni deliver good performances. With effective promotion, this film has the potential to find some traction with audiences nationwide. The slow and unengaging first hour stands as a major drawback. You can try it for its positive aspects.
Telugu360 Rating: 2.75/5
Director: Chandoo Mondeti
Cinematography: Shamdat Sainudeen
Music: DSP
Producer: Allu Aravind
Production: Geetha Arts
