Thammudu, directed by Venu Sriram, tries to be a gut-wrenching, action-packed drama, but in my opinion, it wasn’t able to leave the desired impact for a number of reasons. I believe what makes a protagonist or an antagonist stand out is their flaws, their weaknesses. An ideal villain for me has some goodness within him, and a hero has some weakness that he or she tries to overcome. Stories can become monotonous if a protagonist is portrayed to be flawless. Thammudu does not leave any room for speculation, as everything is either black or white in the narrative. The villain is cruel; he is the worst human being alive, whereas our protagonist is infallible. Take any memorable negative character in the history of cinema, and you will understand that only those characters who exist in the shades of gray, or are at least driven by a strong sense of purpose, are able to leave their mark. I do agree that one-dimensional characters might stir certain emotions in the masses, but they are never able to stand the test of time. The film wasn’t able to utilize the talent of somebody like Saurabh Sachdeva properly. His character was so poorly written that, apart from snarling on occasion, the man didn’t have anything to do.
The narrative was way too superficial for my liking, and I wouldn’t have complained about it had it been executed in an efficient manner. Even if you tried being invested in the story, the CGI (which defies the laws of physics) does not let you do so. The story was predictable, and the characters were so one-dimensional that even if the actors wanted to, they couldn’t show off their craft. The action sequences were so absurdly directed that at times a serious scene felt straight out of a spoof. But with that said, let’s find out what happened in the film and how the protagonist saved the day.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Jay’s sister leave him?
Jay’s sister, Snehlata, was his everything. Their mother died while giving birth to Jay, but Snehlata never let her baby brother feel her absence. Snehlata fell in love with a boy, but the problem was that her father didn’t approve of him. Snehlata was a righteous woman, and she knew that the boy was her one true love. She had promised him that, no matter what happened between her and her father, she would marry him only. Snehlata had no clue that her father would go to extreme lengths to get her married to a man of his choice. Her father wouldn’t have gotten to know about her real intentions had he not caught Jay with a letter that Snehlata had sent for her lover. Jay had to deliver that letter to his sister’s lover, but his father caught him on his way, and he was not able to come up with any excuse. He read the letter, and that was when he had decided to force his decision upon his daughter.
Snehlata was made to marry another man eventually, and she was not able to fulfill the promise she had made to her lover. Snehlata told her father that from that day onwards, she never wanted to see his face. Even when her old man passed away, she didn’t come to his funeral. Snehlata didn’t have anything against her little brother, but Jay always felt that she was angry with him because he had broken her trust. He believed that his sister probably thought that he had given the letter to their father intentionally. But that was not the case. In reality, Snehlata didn’t want to be in touch with any person from her past life. She knew if she came in contact with anybody from her premarital life, she would be reminded of all those bitter emotions. Her husband was a good man, and she didn’t want to do anything that could hurt him. Jay always felt a void within him, and he knew that he would only feel better when his sister accepted him into his life. He felt that at least he needed a chance to apologize to her. What he didn’t know was that his sister had become a very high-ranking government officer, and in the process, she had made a lot of enemies who had every intention of putting as many obstacles as they could in her way.
Why was Agarwal after Jhansi?
Agarwal, the business tycoon, was a wicked and shrewd conspirator. Back in the day, when he was just a teenager, he had killed his adoptive parents and made it look like a car accident. He wanted to get his hands on his parents’ insurance money and build a savvy empire of his own. In the accident, he had ended up getting injured too, and his eardrums couldn’t withstand loud noises above 30 decibels. The man lived in a soundproof house, and all his employees were also mute.
Similarly, he had intentionally caused a blast in his factory, as he wanted to claim the insurance money. He didn’t care if the innocent workers and people living in the vicinity of the factory lived or died, as he felt that he could give them some monetary compensation and settle the matter. But the family of the victims refused to take the compensation, and they demanded an official investigation to be conducted. Agarwal bought everybody, from politicians to government workers, but he was not able to get Jhansi Kiranmayee, aka Snehlata, on his payroll. Snehlata had changed her name, as she didn’t want any kind of association with her past life. She was the expert member on the committee that was established to investigate the blast. She was not ready to sign off on the fake reports, even if it cost her her life. Agarwal got to know that Jhansi and her family were travelling to the Ambaragodugu region, which lay on the border between Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. They went there once a year to pray to the deity and perform rituals. Though this time around, Jhansi should not have gone due to security reasons, she didn’t want to disappoint the elders in her family.
Meanwhile, Jay, who was a champion archer, was not able to focus on his game recently. His coach told him that until he found out what was bothering him, he wouldn’t be able to hit the bullseye. Jay realized that he needed to find his sister and talk to her to mend their differences. He knew that until he did that, he wouldn’t be at peace. Jay’s close friend, Chitra, also suggested the same thing. Chitra and Jay had been friends since childhood. Chitra gave all the credit for her becoming a successful entrepreneur to her friend, Jay. She had run away from home, as her father abused her, and it was Jay’s family who had gotten her into a good orphanage. Chitra also decided to accompany Jay, as she didn’t want to leave him alone. They both had no clue that Snehlata had become Jhansi Kiranmayee and that the most dreaded goon of Vizag was after her life.
Was Jay able to save his sister’s life?
Agarwal sent an assassin named Francis to find Jhansi and make her sign the investigation report. What Francis and his men didn’t know was that Jay was there to help his sister out. Jay, for the longest time, did not tell Jhansi that he was her brother. He didn’t know if she would ever accept him, since she had decided to cut all ties from her past lives. After Francis and his men chased them down, Jay called the emergency services and got in touch with a woman named Ratna, who happened to be in charge of the local call center/helpline. Ratna helped Jay in whatever way she could. She got to know that the local tribes had been offered a reward of 1 crore rupees if they caught hold of Jay and the others. She leaked that information to Jay, as she was a righteous person, and she was not ready to sell her conscience out. A local woman named Guthi offered to take Jay, Jhansi, and the entire family on her bus and help them reach the border, where the police were waiting to escort them back. But Guthi also decided to help Francis once she got to know that there was a reward of 1 crore rupees. Jay and Chitra were able to overpower their nemesis. They risked their lives to make sure that nothing happened to Jhansi and her family. Chitra sacrificed her own life, but she made sure that Guthi wasn’t able to harm anybody from Jhansi’s family.
At the end of Thammudu, Jay, Jhansi, and the others were able to reach the border. But the problem was that Agarwal had asked his men to spread across the city and capture Jhansi if they saw her. The execution of the entire sequence where Jay misled Agarwal’s men and then finally got the better of them not only defied logic, but common sense too. The regret over not being able to save Chitra stayed with Jay, but he was able to help Jhansi bring the truth to light. Jhansi was able to sign the investigative report, and it was proved that the blast was not an accident but an intentional act to claim the insurance money. The families of the victims decided Agarwal’s fate by exposing him to loud noise. The man suffered and then met his fateful end in the most terrible manner.
In Thammudu’s ending, Jay went back to the village, and he met Ratna, as he wanted to express his gratitude. The woman had literally put her life on the line and helped Jay and others even when she didn’t know them. He had consistently been on the call with Ratna when he was trying to escape from the forest area, and he didn’t realize that he had developed feelings for her. It was the beginning of a new chapter in Jay’s life, as, after winning the gold for his country, I believe he wanted to settle down. I won’t be surprised if he settles down with Ratna in the future, though I can’t say the same if the makers decide to come up with another installment and extend the storyline. I don’t have any problem with it as long as they have something authentic to say.
