Ballad of Brawls) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film directed by Khalid Rahman, produced by Ashiq Usman and written by Muhsin Parari and Ashraf Hamza.
[1] The film stars Tovino Thomas, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Shine Tom Chacko and Chemban Vinod Jose.
Thallumaala was theatrically released on 12 August 2022 to positive reviews from critics and grossed ₹72 crore worldwide, emerging as the highest grosser in Tovino Thomas' career.
Wazim meets Fathima Beepaathu Beevi, a vlogger, at a theatre owned by his father Abdullah, where they become friends.
Beepathu invites Wazim for a shop inauguration, but he is unable to make it due to the fight with Jamshi, Vikas and Rajesh.
We focused on entertainment aspects of cinema like action, music etc., and made a story to fit in these elements properly.
I discussed with Ashraf Hamza that my drive is to make a film in same flavour as of KL 10 Patthu but one that attract people to theatres.
It was reported that Rex Vijayan and Shahabaz Aman would join as music directors with Sushin Shyam working only on the background score.
For me, the rebellion of turning my native dialect, culture and beliefs, which at one time used to be considered 'uncivilised' and made me feel less-than, into the stylish aesthetics of a movie was the challenge I wanted to take on...The fun the word conveys - chain of fights and maala paattu (Muslim ballads) - inspired me to think about and develop it as a movie, and place it in pop culture with a literary quality.
Vishnu Vijay got involved in the project while he was working on the 2021 film Bheemante Vazhi, directed by Ashraf Hamza, who co-wrote the screenplay of Thallumaala with Muhsin Parari.
"[18] In addition to his acting role, Tovino Thomas sang the track "Tupathu", an offbeat Rap song with Shakthisree Gopalan.
[24] Vijay, Benny Dayal, Haricharan, Shakthisree Gopalan, Irfana Hameed, Hrithik Jayakish, Neha Girish, Eshaan Sanil, Thejas Krishna, Shenbagaraj, Santhosh Hariharan, Sreeraj as well as Salim Kumar, Tovino Thomas, Khalid Rahman, Binu Pappu, Gokulan, Lukman Avaran and Muhsin Parari gave vocals for the tracks featured in the album.
The soundtrack is influenced by traditional Muslim musical styles of Northern Kerala[25] and consisted of various genres and moods being incorporated.
[26] The soundtrack album received positive feedback from music listeners and critics, appreciating Vishnu Vijay for his compositions and Muhsin Parari for the catchy and fresh lyrics.
The film is peppered with impromptu situational songs with beats as popping as the frames of the music video and lyrics that are conversational and hilarious.
[40] The video garnered attention for its vibrant and colourful picturisation and also noted for a dancing Tovino Thomas, probably the first time in his career.
The video featured dance performances by Tovino Thomas, Shine Tom Chacko, Binu Pappu, Gokulan, Lukman Avaran, Adri Joe, Austin Dan and Swathi Das Prabhu.
[51] The song was clubbed together with a stanza of Chakkara Chundil (a music single by singer Shafi Kollam, who also got an acting part in the scene) and picturised.
[citation needed] A promotional song "Manavaalan Thug" composed and performed by Dabzee & SA was released on Muzik 247's YouTube channel on 10 Aug 2022.
"[67] Jayadeep Jayesh of Deccan Herald gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "‘Thallumaala’ can be appreciated for humanising the people of Mallapuram who are often vilified or caricatured in Malayalam cinema.
"[68] Sanjith Sidhardhan of OTTplay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "While Malayalam cinema has often been hailed for its realistic films, Tovino Thomas and Khalid Rahman’s Thallumaala could be a trendsetter, marrying both quality and entertainment with a craft that is on par with international standards.
"[70] Behindwoods gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Thallumaala is a through-and-through action entertainer with its share of humour, catchy tunes, adept stunt choreography, and decent performances.
Expect the style quotient to hit the roof in this movie as you see Kalyani’s Fathima and most of the other characters sport trendy and high-end clothes.
With enough action sequences to enjoy with your popcorn as Fathima does in the movie, Thallumaala is a good choice for an entertaining time at theatres.
"[71] Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Tovino Thomas is loveable, but Thallumaala’s lively soundtrack and visual gimmicks conspire to generate a sensory overload that camouflages a thin-as-a-pappadum story and emotional emptiness.
"[72] Princy Alexander of Onmanorama reviewed the movie as "A fun ride anchoring on new gen vibe" and said, "Thallumala is more of a jovial experiment in terms of technique and narrative.
Praveen of The Hindu gave praise for its action sequences and technical craft, but mentioned the lack of substance in the narrative and the same craftily hidden with non-linear style and the relentless fight-song-fight routine that would render one without a breathing space to think.
[80] Upon the incident, several subtitle artists from various countries shared similar experiences they faced in the past, and showed solidarity to the company.
After the movie began streaming on Netflix, It has been reported that the word "beef" was completely cut from the Kannada version of Thallumaala.
[88] Kokaachi, however, stated that they first spotted the error when the movie had released in theatres and they found out that their names were missing from the end credits, the makers had "ample time and opportunity to correct the mistake".