Thamma Review

The Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU) has enjoyed both critical and commercial success with Stree, Bhediya, Munjya and Stree 2. Looking to expand its quirky supernatural world, the franchise has introduced a new character - Thamma - to the MHCU lore in its fifth installment of the same name. The idea seems to be to eventually bring together Sarkata, Thamma, Bhediya, and perhaps other characters in an ambitious crossover for the sixth film.

However, Thamma feels more like a detour than a milestone in MHCU's journey - a confusing pit stop on the road to a better destination. The film struggles with its identity, leaving you unsure of whether the makers intended to scare, excite, titillate, or simply exhaust you.

Alok (Ayushmann Khurrana), a fake journalist who fakes news for fame, goes trekking with friends and gets lost in the woods, where a grizzly bear attacks him. He is saved by Tadka (Rashmika Mandanna), and they instantly fall in love. But Alok doesn't know that she is a betaal - a supernatural being, not human - who survives on animal blood. After an accident, Alok too turns into a betaal. The rest of the story is how Alok turns into Thamma - the supreme and super powerful betaal.

Most horror comedies thrive on strong writing and often carry a burden - of addressing a social issue. That is how they stay relevant, relatable and humorous. However, you cannot just stuff a film with issues, preachy messages, outlandish myths and bizarre sequences. The jokes must make sense - and so should the people, the places and the props.

Speaking of the outlandish, why would you place a grizzly bear in a story rooted in Indian folklore? Are the makers trying to recreate Wolverine in Alaska? An Indian black bear could have done the job.

Also, nobody knows for sure what the mythical betaals had for lunch. But this movie wants you to believe that they have a rule not to drink human blood - and that if a betaal breaks that rule, it is thrown into a betaal jail for hundreds of years. "Why not human blood?" you ask? They say that it is because they witnessed so much bloodshed during the India-Pakistan partition that they came to hate human blood. We leave it to you to decide how much sense that makes.

Many other justifications do not make much sense, either. The film treats the betaal-human love story as a relationship between two different species and shows the roadblocks in such a bond - but it never amuses you.

The movie also turns a bit preachy as it touches upon issues like purity, decency, faith-healing and other superstitions, and rituals. It however takes a deep dive at none of those - it just touches and goes.

There aren't many genuine scares. There are plenty of betaals, hundreds of them on screen, yet none manages to scare you - not even the most evil one. The humour is disappointing, too. Most of the jokes are recycled memes that have been overused to the point of exhaustion - like "Lappu sa Sachin", "kya bhediya banega re tu" etc. The wordplay is equally weak, often leaving you facepalming. For instance, when Alok's friend says, "Hum toh andar virgin area mein aa gaye", Alok corrects him, "Arrey, virgin nahin, varjit." In another scene, when the betaals decide to release Alok, their leader says, "Chhod do isko," but Alok mishears the first word. Yes, lame and lazy.

Thamma tries to grab attention with three item numbers by some of the industry's most popular artists - Nora Fatehi, Malaika Arora and Rashmika Mandanna. The songs appear out of nowhere, with barely any connection to the story. But the titillation quotient is 100%.

As for acting and performances, the film follows a pan-India approach to broaden its audience base - unfortunately, at the cost of the overall result. Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj and several supporting actors have been brought in from the South. Sathyaraj is decent but not in the usual form seen in South films. Rashmika struggles with Hindi pronunciation and does not appear as towering or menacing as a betaal should. Ayushmann is passable at best.

Worst of all, even Nawazuddin is wasted. He delivers an inferior version of his Kick character - this time in a betaal costume.

Among all the performances, the standout is the cameo by Abhishek Banerjee, who reprises his role from Stree 2. Varun Dhawan also appears briefly as Bhediya in a well-choreographed action scene, though his performance lacks impact. Sarkata too makes a fleeting appearance - just enough to remind us he exists and will likely return in the next film.

Technically, there is little to fault. The cinematography, editing, art direction, BGM... nearly every department reflects Maddock's signature quality. But they cannot overcome the poor story.

Wait for the sixth installment from the MHCU, which looks promising given the ambitious premise this one sets up. As for this one itself, it will be streaming on OTT very soon.