Malayalam director Tharun Moorthy Interview: We knew ‘Thudarum' will strike a chord with the audience

The Hindu

07-05-2025

It is a hatrick for Tharun Moorthy. After the commercially and critically-acclaimed Operation Java and Saudi Vellakka, the filmmaker has scored big at the box office with Thudarum, headlined by Mohanlal and Shobana.
Despite a predictable storyline, Tharun managed to draw in the crowds with the setting, treatment of the narrative and some incredible performances. Thudarum is the story of a common man, 'Benz' Shanmughan (Mohanlal), a former fight master in the film industry, whose life is thrown into disarray.
Tharun believes he was destined to do the film because producer M Renjith had been trying to make this film for around 12 years with Mohanlal and the film was taken up by six directors in these years. 'I had written my first two films and was not sure if another person's story might excite me. So I had decided that if I didn't connect with the story I would not make it. But I loved the story [by KR Sunil],' says Tharun.
A self-confessed Mohanlal fan, was he worried about meeting the expectations of the actor's fans? 'There was pressure. But, thankfully, majority of his fans stood by my vision. I had interacted with his fans' associations on this account. But the challenge I had was dealing with those who were misleading the audience with fan-made posters and imaginary content. We were all confident about the content. Even though we did not expect this level of success, we knew the film will strike a chord with the audience. We aimed at presenting a free-flowing narrative, from scene 1 to 92,' he says.
Tharun is quick to point out that there has been no deliberate attempt to bring vintage Mohanlal on screen, referring to the buzz around the film ever since filming started. 'The only thing that Renjith chettan [producer Renjith] told me was that, if possible, let us bring the Mohanlal of Aye Auto in the first half. I tried and even included one of the dialogues from that movie, for instance, the famous line 'Go to your classes.''
Instead of creating a vintage version, the narrative weaved in a range of emotions that Mohanlal has showcased with aplomb throughout his career. 'Mischief, playfulness, romance, affection, love, downfall, fear, fury, revenge.... Shanmughan goes through all these emotions,' he says. His favourite scene? 'The scene were Shanmughan breaks down in the bathroom. I told Lal sir to cry without covering his face and collapse in the space available. We didn't expect him to fall that way. We all were stunned when he did that.'
The conversation veers to his comment about 'sleeper cell' fans of Mohanlal that went viral on social media. 'I never expected the comment to become so popular! I had asked my direction team whether the movie would work for the new generation. That's when they mentioned those who have rooted for the actor in spite of his failures. They may not have gone to the theatre for many years and this film is for them, irrespective of their age. They are the sleeper cell fans,' says Tharun with a laugh.
The filmmaker observes that he and Sunil were on the same page as the scriptwriters. The toughest to crack was the characters' journey through the forest in a car. 'Sunil had clarity about the mood, the ambience, the climate, and terrain. We had to work a lot on creating the setting — mist, darkness, festival, mystery of the forest...,' Tharun explains. The film was shot over 99 days in Thodupuzha, Palakkad, Kambam, Theni, Chennai, Ranni etc.
The talking point of Thudarum has been ad filmmaker Prakash Varma, who nailed it as the menacing antagonist, CI George Mathen. How did he find him? 'Divine intervention, perhaps. I wanted a new face, with a specific look – bald head and thick moustache. Sunil, a friend of Prakash for many years, felt that he might be suitable for that role. He clicked a few pictures of Prakash without his knowledge and sent them to me. Later we convinced him do the role. He didn't want to end up as a liability. So we did an audition and screen test.'
Tharun adds that Prakash, who dubbed for the character as well, went through the same process as any new actor would do. What about the way he says 'Hello'? 'That was our suggestion, and he was bang on.'
Recently Jakes Bejoy, the film's composer, had mentioned about Tharun's contributions to the film's soundscape, especially 'the metaphorical references in the characters in music and sound' – kombu and chenda for Shanmughan, nagapattu and violin motifs for George, and wolf howl for Benny (Binu Pappu), referring to the characters as a tusker, a snake and a wolf respectively. 'The film has a close connection with forest and so I wanted to relate them to these animals, in accordance with the traits of these characters,' says Tharun.
On the film's end note, 'Mohanlal Thudarum' (Mohanlal will continue), Tharun says, 'His story will continue. The character Shanmughan will live on, nursing his wounds. The idea came on the editing table.'
He says that much thought went into title design as well. 'Thudarum is written in three ways — initially with no wounds, then with blood and wounds and finally with the sutures. People might probably take note of these only when they re-watch it. Even if they don't, that's ok. These ideas came out of our excitement for the movie.'
Mohanlal was simultaneously shooting for Empuraan while acting in Thudarum. 'He slipped into Shanmughan, the common man, from Khureshi Ab'raam, the don, with so much ease. That comes from 47 years of experience.'
The filmmaker adds that he chooses to ignore the discussions comparing the two movies. 'I am impressed by the visual scape of Empuraan. The scale at which Raju [actor-director Prithviraj] mounted the movie opened the market for Malayalam cinema in other languages. Empuraan is a big reason for Thudarum getting a big opening and entry into other markets.'
The chat is incomplete without mention of Binu Pappu, a mainstay in Tharun's career. 'I think this is his best performance till date.' Tharun has already announced his next project, Torpedo, written by Binu and starring Fahadh Faasil, Arjun Das, Naslen Gafoor and Ganapathi.