Ravindra Madhava’s debut feature, Thanal (translates to Shade), arrives with the gritty ambition of a modern action-drama that aims to dissect themes of systemic corruption and personal retribution. It begins on a compelling note: a 2016 police encounter wipes out a gang of bank robbers, setting the stage for a present-day revenge spiral where a shadowy figure, played by Ashwin Kakumanu, meticulously hunts down the involved officers. A new police recruit, played by Atharvaa, is quickly caught in this escalating conflict during a routine night patrol, unwittingly becoming bait for a much larger, sewer-routed multi-bank heist. The film is at its most engaging when it operates purely as a chase thriller within the claustrophobic maze of a deserted housing board and its underground tunnels. The cinematography excels here, using the grime and hard edges of the environment to build palpable tension and atmosphere.
A Script Overstuffed with Detours
Unfortunately, Thanal continuously undercuts its own strengths by succumbing to a cluttered, over-explanatory script. The lean, focused thriller that should have been the heart of the film is repeatedly interrupted by unnecessary exposition and narrative detours. Fights pause for lengthy monologues, and exposition barges into moments of high tension, eroding the sense of urgency. The villain’s grievance, which involves a mining land grab and police complicity, has genuine real-world weight, but the writing attempts to launder a terrorist playbook into tragic inevitability without the necessary character work to make the leap believable. It wants the audience to feel the victim’s burn and forgive the arson in the same breath, a complex moral calculus that requires finesse the film simply lacks.
Performances That Deserve a Better Vehicle
The cast attempts to hold the disparate elements together. Atharvaa brings a steady, reliable presence and a relatable energy to his unnamed protagonist, particularly shining in the physical sequences. Ashwin Kakumanu commands attention with his brooding glare, even though his antagonist’s arc is thinly supported by the writing. The film, however, commits the cardinal sin of the genre by introducing a romance track with Lavanya Tripathi’s character, Anu, that feels entirely perfunctory. It serves no narrative purpose other than to provide the antagonist with a hostage, bloating the runtime and acting as a persistent sore thumb in an otherwise gritty drama. Even the comic relief from Shah Ra, while occasionally landing a clean beat, initially feels forced and misaligned with the film’s core tone.
A Missed Confluence of Ideas
Thanal suffers from a fundamental confusion about its identity, attempting to be an overnight thriller, a police procedural, a character-driven revenge drama, and a canvas for societal issues all at once. The disjointed narratives—the hero’s family story, his love story, the two instances meant to connect later, and the villain’s backstory—never quite cohere into a satisfying whole. This results in a final act where the social messaging is tacked on as a sudden strike to tie up loose ends, leaving little emotional impact. Ultimately, director Ravindra Madhava shows a flair for crafting visual intensity and a sharp sense of setting, but the film needs to learn the hard lesson: less is often more. When Thanal runs, you lean in. When it reasons and rambles, you drift. There is a sharper, more effective thriller hiding beneath the layers of over-explaining and padding.
CINEMA SPICE RATING: ★★½ (2.5/5)
