''Thuramukham'' () is a 2023 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

-language

period drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

directed and filmed by

Rajeev Ravi Rajeev Ravi is an Indian cinematographer, director, and producer from Kochi, Kerala. He's best known for his work in Hindi and Malayalam films. After graduating from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 1997, he started his caree ...

and written by Gopan Chidambaran. It is based on the play of the same name by K. M. Chidambaran, Gopan's father. The film stars

Nivin Pauly Nivin Pauly (born 11 October 1984) is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is the recipient of two Kerala State Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South, two Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, and ...

Indrajith Sukumaran Indrajith Sukumaran (born 17 December 1979) is an Indian actor and playback singer. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Indrajith was born to the actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran and is the elder brother of actor Prithviraj Sukum ...

Joju George Joseph "Joju" George (born 22 October 1977) is an Indian actor, playback singer, director, writer and producer who primarily works in Malayalam cinema along with Tamil, and Telugu cinemas. In 2015, he won the Kerala State Film Award � ...

Arjun Ashokan Arjun Ashokan (24 August 1993) is an Indian actor working in the Malayalam film industry. He is the son of the actor Harisree Ashokan. He played supporting roles in his career with notable performances in '' Parava, B. Tech, June,'' '' Vara ...

Sudev Nair Sudev Nair (born 14 April 1985) is an Indian actor and model who predominantly works in Malayalam films along with few Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and English films. He is best known for his performance in '' My Life Partner'' (2014), for ...

Manikandan R. Achari Manikandan R. Achari is an Indian actor who has appeared in many Malayalam films and theatre productions. He made his film debut in the 2016 film ''Kammatipaadam''. Personal life Manikandan was born in 1980 at Thrippunithura, Kerala. He marr ...

Senthil Krishna Senthil Krishna is an Indian actor known for roles in Malayalam films and Television. His most notable performance is in the 2018 biographical film '' Chalakkudykkaran Changathy'', where he played the title character as Kalabhavan Mani. Persona ...

Nimisha Sajayan Nimisha Sajayan is an Indian actress who predominately works in Malayalam films apart from Tamil and Hindi films. Nimisha made her acting debut with the film ''Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum'' directed by Dileesh Pothan. She won the Kerala State ...

Poornima Indrajith Poornima Indrajith (née Poornima Mohan) is an Indian actress and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. She debuted as child artist with the Malayalam film '' Onnu Muthal Poojaym Vare'' in 1986. Her last film before marriag ...

, and

Darshana Rajendran Darshana Rajendran is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. Darshana is best known for her performance in the 2022 films—''Hridayam'' and '' Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey''. The latter earned her Filmfare ...

in prominent roles. It presents the harbor workers protest against the Chappa labor allocation system practiced during the 1940s and 50s in Cochin district of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. After multiple delays, ''Thuramukham'' was theatrically released on 10 March 2023.The film got mixed reviews and was a

box office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

Plot

The story is set in the backdrop of workers' struggles and protests against the infamous 'Chappa' system of casual labour allocation and the primitive "work guarantee" scheme that was practiced at the

Mattancherry Mattancherry (; Cochin Portuguese Creole: ''Cochim de Cima'' ), is a historic ward of Kochi, Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, follow ...

harbor in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

during the 1940s and 50s. Metal tokens called chappa were thrown into the waiting crowds of labourers who would fight for them. Whoever managed to get one would be given work for the day at the wharves or godowns. Protests against this system had resulted in the

police shooting Following are lists of killings by law enforcement officers. ** List of killings by law enforcement officers in Belize ** List of killings by law enforcement officers in Canada ** List of killings by law enforcement officers in China ** List of ki ...

and the killing of three labourers. The story further revolves around two brothers on opposing sides on the day of labourers' epic struggle against dock bosses.

Cast

as Mattancherry Moidu *

as Santo Gopalan *

as Mymoo, Moidu's father *

as Hamza, Moidu's brother *

as Khadeeja, Moidu's sister *

as Umani, Moidu's wife *

as Moidu's mother *

as Pacheek *

as Umboocha, Mymoo's friend *

as Srank *

Divya Gopinath Divya Gopinath is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films. She made her debut in the film ''Kammatipaadam'' (2016). She has since played roles in films such as '' Ayaal Sassi'' (2017), ''Virus'' (2019), and ''Anjaam Pathiraa'' (2020). ...

Production

The principal photography of the film was completed in January 2020 but the release was delayed for a long time due to the outbreak of

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Music

The film features songs and background score composed by K and

Shahabaz Aman Shahabaz Aman (born 27 December 1969) is an Indian playback singer and composer. He was born in Malappuram, Kerala, India. He is also a stage performer of Ghazal music. Shahabaz is known for his soulful, romantic voice and unique style of singin ...

Release

Theatrical

''Thuramukham'' was scheduled for worldwide theatrical release in summer 2021 but was postponed due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala. but was postponed again, to avoid the clash with

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

starrer '' Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham'' which released on 2 December 2021. Later, the film was announced to be released on 24 December 2021 during the festival time of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

but was again postponed. The film was postponed yet again after being scheduled to be released on 7 January 2022. The film was finally released in theatres on 10 March 2023.

Marketing

On 13 May 2021, the makers released the first

teaser trailer A teaser trailer, also shortened to teaser, is a short trailer (promotion), trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Sh ...

Reception

Anna Mathews, a critic of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'', gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Director Rajeev Ravi infuses his usual atmospheric heft to the film". Anandu Suresh, critic of ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

'', stated that "But for those who enjoy the slow pace, this movie is unquestionably a gem", and gave 4 out 5 stars. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' critic S.R.Praveen wrote that "Rajeev Ravi’s film is an important document of the struggles to unionise for rights". ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' critic wrote that "''Thuramukham'' is, nevertheless, significant for playing spoilsport in a world where it is the eternal goal of oppressors to ensure that their stories are never told by those with empathy for the oppressed", and gave 2.75 rating out of 5. Princy Alexander, critic of '' Onmanorama'', stated that "The narration is slow-paced and jerky at times." ''

The Quint ''The Quint'' is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism ...

'' critic gave 3 stars out of 5, in a review headlined "Rajeev Ravi & Nivin Pauly Mount a Strong Film on Communism". ''

OTTplay HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media. HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The Times of ...

'' critic gave 3.5 out of 5 and wrote that "The powerful performances and the electrifying ending make it an engrossing watch."

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020s Malayalam-language films 2023 films 2023 drama films 2020s historical drama films Indian historical drama films Films shot in Kochi Films scored by K (composer)