‘Thudakkam’ marks Vismaya Mohanlal’s entry into Mollywood with Muay Thai action
Mollywood’s Onam slate has kicked off with a major launch vehicle — ‘Thudakkam’, directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. In a rare move, the CBFC certificate itself lists the film as ‘Vismaya Mohanlal’s Thudakkam’, signaling the debut of actor Mohanlal’s daughter, Vismaya Mohanlal.
The 139-minute Malayalam film stars Vismaya as Meenu, alongside Sai Kumar, Ashish Joe Antony, Chippy, Manoj K. Jayan, Bobby Kurian, and K.B. Ganesh Kumar. Mohanlal makes a cameo appearance as a martial arts master. In the scene, he tells Meenu that this is her “Thudakkam” or beginning and asks her to “make your father proud.” Though Sai Kumar plays her father in the story, the intent behind the line is clear to audiences.
The story follows Meenu’s peaceful life with her father, which is rattled when she encounters a man with a shady past. From the prologue, the film establishes the antagonist’s cruelty and then cuts to a montage of Meenu’s idyllic family life. The screenplay, co-written by Jude Anthany Joseph, Akhil Krishna and Linish Nellikkal, sticks closely to familiar revenge thriller beats and offers few surprises.
A key highlight of the film is Vismaya’s training in Muay Thai, which becomes central to the narrative. Similar to how Pranav Mohanlal’s parkour skills were used in his debut Aadhi (2018), Thudakkam builds several action sequences around the debutante’s martial arts background. These fight scenes provide the biggest lift to the film, and her flexibility at times recalls her father’s action films.
However, the writing remains a weak point. The film leans heavily on the overused trope of sexual violence and revenge. Jude’s tendency to over-explain through expository scenes and cliched dialogues is evident here, likely amplified by the needs of a star launch. Some choices feel perplexing — the antagonist played by Ashish Joe Antony speaks only one line in the entire movie, yet is expected to carry menace through expression alone. A comment by a police officer that sets the neighborhood talking has also been criticized as silly. Mohanlal’s cameo, while much discussed, adds little to the plot.
Without the thoughtful inclusion of Vismaya’s martial arts, Thudakkam would have ended up as just another generic revenge drama. Her screen presence and action skills manage to push it into average territory. As part of Mollywood’s push for big Onam releases this year, Thudakkam is clearly positioned to draw in the Mohanlal fan base, banking more on the debut and action than on narrative novelty.
