Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam review: Senna Hegde’s rustic family drama is a clash between archaic, young mindsets

3.5/5

Story: Kanhangad-based Vijayan, a Gulf returnee, is gearing up for the engagement of his younger daughter Suja. For him, it’s a matter of pride to get her married to another NRI as he couldn’t get his elder daughter Surabhi to follow his wish, an ‘embarrassment’ that he is trying to make up for with Suja’s marriage. While it should be a joyful time for the family, Suja isn’t too keen on the wedding. As close family and friends come together, it unearths some bitter truths and frustrations that have been simmering on the surface for long.

Review: In the first half of the film, Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam’s protagonist Vijayan (Manoj KU), a Gulf returnee, has a conversation with his friend, a local politician named Aukarcha, drawing parallels with sheikdom in Kuwait. “Kuwait is progressive. It has a king who understands its people, and if he draws a line no one who would dare cross it,” he says. Aukarcha immediately responds that it means that the king can do anything he wants and that’s not possible in a democracy. In a way, the scene sort of summarises Vijayan’s mindset and the patriarchal will with which he wants to run the household, and how his archaic expectations keep getting dashed, only further infuriating him.

Director Senna Hedge’s family comedy-drama is filled with such layers. At its surface, it’s a movie about a family gearing up for an engagement over a weekend. Vijayan is set to get his younger daughter Suja engaged to a man from Sharjah, probably again due to his belief that people working outside the country are well off and also as it would make up for the ‘embarrassment’ he had suffered after he couldn’t get his elder daughter Surabhi married off to someone he wanted. For Vijayan, the engagement would reclaim his lost pride and hold his head high – even as he is absconding from a money lender. It’s all a matter of how he wants others to perceive him; that’s what’s important to him and not the happiness of those who truly matter. Senna first shows this while Vijayan sifts through his son’s sketchbook and is offended with his pot-bellied drawing. The hurt is deep as Vijayan brings it up at a later point in the story.

It’s again these allegories that stand out in the film – how Vijayan’s sister and family arrive and at first are reluctant to have eat lunch. But once they see the person, whom Vijayan had wanted his elder daughter to get married to, eat the ‘bitter gourd’ dish, they too join in. And it’s on the creaky dining table, when the family comes together, that Vijayan’s true state of mind are revealed, especially when he finds out that his perception of what others’ favourite dish is is wrong – something that a person who believes that he understands and knows what is right for the ones that matter to him can’t seem to bear. There are so many such instances where Senna introduces a dialogue and then brings it back at a later stage to point out the hypocrisy of it all.

Amid the family drama, Senna, who has co-written the screenplay with its cinematographer Sreeraj Raveendran, presents strong women in the family. Despite her father’s iron will, Surabhi (Unnimaya Nalappadam) gets married to the person she wanted to and not someone who has made her uncomfortable in the past. Suja, who isn’t keen to get to engaged, too isn’t influenced by what her father will go through when the relatives remind her about the humiliation he had suffered. She instead decides to follow her heart. Senna sends out a coherent message through the characters that people should be allowed to make their decisions as they are also capable of facing the consequences. Unlike in the past, women in Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam break out of the shackles that age-old conventions try to impose on them, and through his delightful, flawed and everyday characters, Senna succeeds in painting an evolved take on the relatable tale.

While majority of the cast are new faces, they are a delight to watch. Manoj as the volatile Vijayan and Anagha as Suja are the standout performers who are beautifully supported by the rest of the cast, who ace the Kanhangad dialect and the body language required for a rustic tale told wrapped in humour. Mujeeb Majeed’s music effectively complements that screenplay and Sreeraj’s frames keeps it fresh and moving.

Verdict: With brilliant performances and a captivating screenplay, Senna Hegde’s Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam brilliantly imparts a pertinent message wrapped in humour. While it does take its time to set up the premise, the earnest characters will keep you glued. The fun begins when the layers start unravelling.