Thira (film)

Thira (English: Wave) is a 2013 Indian Malayalam thriller film directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan and scripted by his cousin Rakesh Mantodi.^[2] It stars Shobana alongside debutant Dhyan Sreenivasan in the lead roles. The film was produced by Manoj Menon under the banner ReelsMagic and distributed by LJ Films.^[3] Thira was announced to be the first installment in a trilogy of thriller films.^[4] According to Srinivasan, the film was inspired from the book The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam.^[5]

The film marks the debut of Vineeth Sreenivasan's younger brother Dhyan Sreenivasan and also the return of actress Shobana to Malayalam cinema after almost a decade.^[3] It was filmed by Jomon T. John and has music composed by Shaan Rahman. Principal photography of the film took place in Hyderabad, Madras, Belgaum and Goa. It was released on 14 November 2013.The film was screened in IFFK 2013.

Plot

The story is set in Karnataka and Goa.^[2][3] Dr. Rohini Pranab (Shobhana), a cardiac surgeon, who gives shelter to destitute girls, is the target of a group of criminals indulging in illegal human trafficking. The girls from her home are taken away by a gang, who also kidnaps the sister of a youth named Naveen (Dhyan Sreenivasan), right in front of his eyes. Now the two are doing all that they can do to trace the criminals along with Rohini's friends who later face some hardships. Both of them at last identify the secret place where the trafficked girls are kept and release them with the wise advice from Rohini and action from Naveen.

Cast

• Shobhana as Dr. Rohini Pranab
• Dhyan Sreenivasan as Naveen
• Deepak Parambol
• Gaurav Vasudev as Kidnapper
• Sijoy Varghese as Cabinet Minister
• Amritha Anil as Rhea
• Harikrishnan
• Sabhitha

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack is composed by Shaan Rahman. Lyrics are penned by Anu Elizabeth.

Critical reception

Nowrunning.com remarked that "Vineeth Sreenivasan's Thira is a thoughtful exploration of a theme that is often discussed in hushed whispers. It's quite resolute in its objective, is extremely detailed, is involving for its most part and is charmingly acted as well."^[6] Oneindia.in rated it 4 out of 5 and says "Here comes a movie which stands apart from the rest of Malayalam films, which entertains the viewers from start to end and makes us crave for more. Yes, Thira by Vineeth Sreenivasan is a well directed, well acted, engaging movie which can be termed as paisa vasool." ^[7] The Times of India gave 3 stars out of 5 and mentioned "The narrative of the film moves at a steady pace despite the predictability that comes along with it".^[8] Sify.com described the film as average, "an okay one-time watch", while pointing out inspirations from the 2007 film, Trade.^[9] The New Indian Express wrote, "Thira is a satisfying thriller carried successfully by lead actress Shobhana".^[10]

Box office

Sify stated that Thira "opened well",^[11] but was "an average grosser" at the end of it's run.^[12] Cine Shore reported that the film collected 4.02 crore (US$640,000) from 28 days and declared the film's box office performance as "average".^[13]

Festival screenings

The film was an official selection for the following film festivals:

• Gwinnett Center International Film Festival - International Competition section.

Awards

Vanitha Film Awards^[14]

• Best Actress - Shobhana

Asianet Film Awards

• Best Debut Actor - Dhyan Sreenivasan

References

External links

• Thira at the Internet Movie Database
• Thira - Official Facebook Page