Thira (2013)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The main feat in this film that made me write a review is the screenplay of this film. The story is based on Human Trafficking. Right from the first scene, the film carries into a deep thriller which would hook up any viewer. The characters are well-designed and they do what they're told. The plot is as any usual thriller and there is nothing new in this film as far the story is concerned but the screenplay is well executed.'Maayi' is the name of the lead character who's a independent strong women. A humanitarian, a cardiologist and a wife who fights to bring down the guys who were responsible for her husband's death. Her character is one of the main things to watch out for in the film. The role of the other main character 'Navin' is about a guy who has lost his sister in broad daylight starts searching and proves that he would go to any extent to save her. His acting was acceptable and nothing seemed negative.The relation between the two lead characters is very neatly portrayed. This cannot be considered as any regular film as the logic seemed intact in almost all the scenes and it is really difficult to find a film without any glitches especially in thriller genre. The flow was really smooth throughout the film and none of the parts were boring.Overall verdict : If you want a decent thriller with expected twists and turns, then go for Thira. Do not expect too much cause you might be disappointed.

90% of the thriller films have some "fabrication/"fictional element/ploy in their plots so as to set the connections right in the screenplay/narration. The best ones are those which do not let it show. Thira shows all its fabrication nodes vividly while displaying a bold array of ruthless imaginary contexts on current affairs.Starting off with a complex, fast-paced dialog delivery b/w Shobhana and a minister, the plot gives away little as to what happens next but more as to what will happen in the second film of the trilogy which Thira is a part of. After complicating things for an average audience, it tells stories of different girls being abducted. Then new characters start barging in, like people do in clubs during happy hours. Not talking about character depth, everything in this film works with dialogs. They talk about the plight of these girls and we are supposed to visualize (great!), they talk about a journalist-cum-spy-cum-writer-cum-bachelor in cryptography-cum-hero-cum-social activist-cum-genius who paves the way and we are supposed to worship him, they say a cardiac surgeon is a brave-heart, ironically we are supposed to think she is lady God or "Mai." Terrible! Characters meet & dispatch and then meet again so easily in this terrible screenplay, I wonder they all use jet-packs.After creating a web of theories, the cardiac surgeon and a nobody, played finely by Shobhana & Dhyan, carry out westward investigation and try to almost crack the case. As a result, I lost interest in the plot. What was becoming a suspense thriller turned out to be so predictable, the f-word I was talking about flashed on the screen. Music is fine and so is the art/setup/locations.Nothing is actually displayed in this film, but told and made-believe by the characters. That is not cinema!The minor twists failed to impress me as they were all weak in enactment and towards the end, giving hint at a sequel, the film ends abruptly like it just did a wonderful job. Catching the cold from Hollywood studios on how to make easy money by creating anticipation, Vineeth Srinivasan disappoints. Everyone who watched Thira might be eagerly waiting for the second film, but not me, because I cannot take pretentious idiots fooling around with cameras and scripts and stuff..BOTTOM LINE: Maybe a one-time watch. Typical Malayalis may wonder over the thrills. Cinema aficionados can take a hike. 5.1/10!

In a day and age where domestic violence and violence against women are at large and far-flung, topics like rape, assault and sex trafficking are still considered to be a taboo on screen. Agreed, its a sensitive topic to be visually presented but its high time that the mold be broken, especially in Malayalam cinema. Pardon, my knowledge regarding Malayalam movies tackling similar topics, but I found it amusing that Thira handled the genre pretty well.Directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, Thira tells the story of Dr. Rohini Pranab who's on a race against the clock when some of the girls she'd taken under her wing, gets abducted. Herself caught neck-deep in a conspiracy and accompanied by Naveen whose sister got abducted among the girls, the plot moves at a brisk pace from start to end.A ravishing Shobana makes a come back in the shoes of Dr. Rohini Pranab. Shobana effortlessly plays the character which screams for an applause. From a sincere doctor, to a caring social activist and at times adorning shades of power and intimidation, Shobana does shine in her role. There was this particular scene where Rohini, amidst all the troubles she's in, returns to the hospital for a surgery. While the distinct line ain't anything new, it tremendously reminded me of a scene from Sangeeth Sivan's Nirnayam. Vineeth's sibling, Dhyan Sreenivasan, despite the initial and occasional nuances of a newcomer, stands out with a commendable débutante performance. While Deepak Parambol who played the very amiable youth communist, Manoj in Thattathin Marayath was menacing and nefarious as ever as in this one.The visuals were all exquisitely shot and is worthy to be labeled 'grim and elegant'. While the movie had tense moments, it lost some in its second act and the chases were a little less adrenaline pumping but it served the purpose of thrilling you. Complemented by an excellent soundtrack Thira is bound to keep you on the edge of the your seat till end.My only qualm was regarding the linguistic choice that happened throughout the movie. I take it that it was to make it accessible for a wider audience that Hindi was prominently used, but its ever too hard to digest when localites as well as other characters spoke such fluent Hindi.Just like Vineeth's previous Thattathin Marayath, Thira doesn't break any new grounds but a Malayalam movie almost on the same page as a Hollywood thriller is something that deserves more than a clap, a standing ovation maybe? Being the first in a planned trilogy and ending in a cliffhanger, it remains to see if the sequels would pack the same punch, nonetheless Thira was an entertaining ride from start to end. I watched this just after Philips & The Monkey Pen and I am rather glad at how Malayalam movies are getting out of their banal, cozy family soap/romance couches.

Thira is undoubtedly one of the better movies released in 2013.It belongs to thriller genre,not the usual suspense thrillers you see in malayalam.The story is not what we haven't heard or seen before but the treatment is quite different and interesting.Director Vineeth has improved a lot from his previous outing tattathin marayathu.This is his best work so far IMO.In this genre,Director has to work a lot to satisfy the audience.Inspite of flaws in the script,the movie has come out as a decent thriller which deals with the issue of human trafficking.The story goes like this.Rohini is a cardiac surgeon who also runs a welfare home for women.She is dealing with the mystery behind her husband's death.Things go haywire when the girls at her welfare home is kidnapped by some people and she is on the run for bringing them back.On the other hand,Naveen is on his way to meet his sister only to witness her kidnapped right before his eyes.At some point,these two characters meet and together they set out to recover the girls.clearly the storyline bares some similarities to Taken about the kidnapping but it ends there.The movie also shows how the so called police and law enforcers shows its back to common people when there is a problem Shobana returns to the silver screen with an electrifying performance as the bold Rohini.Although she did a small role in Sagar alias jacky,it was rather unwanted.She proves again that she is one of the best heroines in malayalam.The media,which has been giving cheap publicity to those heroines whose expressions makes you just throw up seems to have forgotten about the veteran actress.The film did require an actress of her calibre and she just provide that.Dhyan gives an okay performance even though in some scenes like the one he shouts at the policeman went slightly overboard.His action scenes were good.Rest of the cast doesn't have much to do.Most of them are not familiar figures in malayalam.Despite being a malayalam movie,malayalam dialogues are few.Subtitles are provided for Hindi dialogues though.Camera work was rather irritating at times due to the camera shakes.Soundtrack was refreshing with teerathe neelune track at the titles and Thaazhvaram song near the end.Background music was in fact a part of teerathe neelune track which worked well at parts.Script has some flaws but direction has been able to overcome that to an extent.The first half was pretty racy and enthralling.The second half however slows down a bit even though its engaging towards the end.There are some things in store at the climax for the sequel.Thira is not a must watch or magnificent flick.Its worth a try for those who like this genre.