Thanneermathan Dinangal Review: a genuine entertainer

The beauty of the new Malayalam movie Thanneer Mathan Dinangal directed by debutant Girish AD is how beautifully they have created characters. This is not a movie that is driven by a huge central conflict. But by capturing the texture of plus-two life effectively Thanneer Mathan Dinangal manages to become a relatable experience. The script that makes us root for the story rather than the characters is the real star of this delightful entertainer.

Jason is the main protagonist. When he came to his school for plus-two, he wasn’t liked by all due to his attitude. But soon people got to know the real him and he became a part of the gang. In the midst of all that he fell in love with his classmate named Keerthy. The events in that love life and how the entry of a teacher named Ravi Padmanabhan causes issues in Jason’s life is what Thanneer Mathan Dinangal depicting on screen.

The character presentation is the key ingredient of humor here. Because the characters are so real and raw, we tend to experience that relatable humor. The climax of the movie has a sequence where our hero chases a bus to see his loved one. There is a level of absurdity to it, but how it develops into insanely hilarious riot comedy was unpredictable and everyone in the audience was laughing out loud. As I already said, there is no typical structure for the movie. It has varying conflicts at various points. But because all those conflicts are set in the same backdrop, it almost feels like the plus-two diaries of a young lad. The character played by Vineeth Sreenivasan has a spooky shade in the beginning but eventually, he becomes another quirky character. The rift between Ravi and Jason gets a good explanation at the end.

Mathew Thomas who debuted with Kumbalangi Nights has got a character that looks far different from Franky. Jason is nervous and somewhat unlikeable and he carries the naïve nature of the character pretty effectively. Anaswara Rajan was really good at being Keerthy. I really like the way she is easily shifting her dialect in movies. Vineeth Sreenivasan’s overacting kind of representation of Ravi Padmanabhan makes total sense as the movie is viewed from Jason’s perspective. Naslin, the humanities boy was a real find I also enjoyed watching Frank and Vyshak as the classmates of Jason. Irshad, Nisha Sarang, Shabareesh, etc are there in minor roles and a special mention to Dinoy Paulose who was hilarious as the elder brother of the hero.

By the time the movie ends, we sort of have a picture about almost all the characters in the limelight. That’s the best thing about this movie. Even though it is looking at things from Jason’s perspective it strives to be a tale of every character in that journey. The short films done by the director were known for their ability to understand the nuances of characters and here also we get to experience that. The laughter is generated by laughing at the characters and in a way, it’s a nostalgic package that will take you back to your school days. The songs are fab, the cuts are interestingly paced and the cinematography holds the mood of the movie effectively.

At a time when there are fake entertainers that projects a lavish illusionary image of campuses, Thanneer Mathan Dinangal breaks such stereotypes by presenting the simplest of realities in the smartest and enjoyable way possible. It’s a movie that assures that you will laugh out loud for genuine humor.