Mithran Jawahar, in his “Thiruchitrambalam”, has managed to tell a story of a protagonist who is a coward, spends most of his youth hating his father, falls in love with a random woman, breaks his heart and moves on. He fails to recognise the woman who loves him. This is not something you have not seen before. You will even predict what will happen at the end, but the film is not about being unique. It is about how the story is being told from the beginning. You will soon understand that nothing unusual is happening, which is important. Life doesn’t always surprise you; sometimes, you just live to live. Whatever is in the screenplay, it can be relatable to anyone, anywhere. Even the climax, where the hero fails to meet the heroine, may make you cringe. However, this film delivers one of the most refreshing rom-com stories in recent memory.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In “Thiruchitrambalam”?
The film starts with an accident sequence where we see a car hit by a truck. Soon we see Pazham, aka Thiruchitrambalam (Dhanush), waiting for some food to be prepared. He worked as a food delivery boy for “Doink”. He narrated the story in first-person narrative, where we learned about his life. Pazham was not happy with the job as he wanted to become successful. He went to deliver the food, which was received by one of his school friends. He also saw Anusha, his childhood crush, and did not want her to see him in such a condition. He left as soon as possible. Later that night, there was a fight outside the food stall. He tried to avoid getting into the fight, but he somehow failed to do so. The police caught the whole group, and a senior inspector named Neelankandan (Prakash Raj) slapped only one guy in front of everyone. That guy was Pazham, and Neelankandan was his father. Later, we are introduced to the senior Thiruchitrambalam, the grandfather of Pazham. He was the most remarkable member of the house. Pazham and his father were not on speaking terms about some issues from the past.
Later, we are introduced to Shobana (Nithya Menen), Pazham’s best friend since childhood, who lived in the same building. They shared everything between themselves, and Pazham told her about Anusha. Shobana told him that she was out of his league. But, later, Anusha saw Pazham at a petrol pump and asked for his number. Pazham told Shobana about this and she mocked him by saying she only took her number to use him. Anusha even called him to bring some food. Soon, Pazham and Anusha started dating, and there were warm moments between them. When Pazham proposed, she told him that she was only flirting and that their worlds were different. Pazham was heartbroken and went back to living his regular life. In between these sequences, we see some kidnappings in the locality, and the police fail to make any progress. While delivering food, Pazham accidentally found out about the whereabouts of the kidnappers, and he informed the police. There was a gunshot, and Pazham went home scared. The media interviewed Neelankandan about this, but Pazham felt like he was the one who should be on the television as he helped them capture the kidnappers.
Pazham and Shobana went to see a movie and saw Anusha with her friends. They even mocked him by mentioning his line of work. Shobana defended him, but they mocked her too. Shobana was angry to see Pazham staying silent even when she was being bullied. Shobana asked him to take a stand for himself, but Pazham got mad at her. Later, he had a big fight with his father, in which he said that his father was responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister. Then we see the flashback of the accident in the very first scene. Neelankandan was driving the car while Pazham was sitting right next to him in the front. Pazham’s mother and sister were in the back seat. Neelankandan kept checking his phone again and again, even after Pazham told him to concentrate on the road. Soon, he lost control when the truck came; the mother and sister died on the spot. After the heavy fight with his father, Pazham left for work and found out that his father had been admitted to the hospital. Neelankandan suffered from paralysis. His family was invited to a marriage ceremony at his in-laws’ house. He had been avoiding them, fearing they would blame him for the death of their daughter. But, as it turned out, they were shattered to see him in such a condition.
There, Pazham met with a girl named Ranjini and tried to get her number. Pazham thought that she liked him, but in reality, she did not. Again heartbroken, Pazham took his grandfather’s suggestion and proposed to Shobana. Shobana told him to forget that he had ever proposed to her, as she did not want any awkwardness between them. Pazham was devastated about losing Shobana, and since his father and he had built a good relationship, Neelankandan told him to give some space to Shobana. He understood her value only after her absence, and he said it would be the same for her. Soon we see the kidnapper come to kill Neelankandan as he is released from jail. Pazham interfered and, for the first time since college, got into a fight to save his father. After that, Pazham continued avoiding Shobana while she was offered a job in Canada. She took the opportunity and left for Canada. Later, Shobana’s brother told Pazham that she had been in love with him since class 6. One month later, we see Pazham visiting Shobana in Canada.
‘Thiruchitrambalam’ Ending Explained: Why Did Shobana Reject Pazham’s Proposal In The First Place?
Shobana has loved Pazham since childhood. Pazham never considered Shobana his girlfriend, and she knew that very well. She kept all Valentine’s Day cards she bought for Pazham but could never give them to him. She even wrote a love letter. But Pazham, on the other hand, always looked for the girls he liked, without knowing whether they wanted him or not. He was innocent and very old-fashioned. He kept confusing flirting with love. This happened to Anusha. Anusha was his childhood crush, and Pazham thought she was in love with him when she made the first move. Anusha gave him one or two kisses on the cheek, so he thought they were very involved. But, when he proposed to her, Anusha said she was only flirting with him for a while. Later, for Ranjini, too, Pazham went in the wrong direction. Ranjini was being friendly with him, but he took that as affection. Ranjini, too, rejected him. In both cases, Shobana helped him as she wanted him to be happy. Shobana’s love for Pazham was too pure to be compared with anyone else in the story. Shobana was hurt whenever Pazham talked about a new girl, but she never let her emotions destroy their friendship or even hurt Pazham.
But, when Pazham finally proposed to her, she realized that Pazham did not really want to marry her. She thought that, as he was suffering from recent breakups, he just wanted to fill the void by asking her to marry him. Shobana was too proud to even point that out to Pazham, and as she did not want to ruin the friendship, she decided not to talk about it. Shobana wanted Pazham to feel love as she had nurtured it for so long. She never wanted to be just another rebound girlfriend; instead, she wanted to be respected in a certain way. Shobana’s demands were not massive; she just wanted Pazham to be happy in whatever way he wanted. She used to get very irritated when Pazham would not let her know before meeting a new girl. She even got angry when Pazham failed to visit her in the morning before going to work. But, in the end, all she could feel was sadness for leaving Pazham without seeing him once. She cried a lot, but it was already too late. When her brother finally showed the cards and the love letter to Pazham, he got confused. He told him that he had already proposed to Shobana, but she had rejected him. Shobana’s brother told him she feared being someone who would fill someone else’s void in Pazham’s life. Pazham then realized that he was searching all around without knowing that the right girl was beside him all along.
Final Words
It was a beautifully crafted drama with a rom-com vibe on its surface. This film is blessed with its subtle writing and brilliant casting. Dhanush outsmarted everyone, but still, it was Nithya Menen who stole the limelight. Also, you can not forget the brilliant performances from Prakash Raj and, of course, Bharathiraja. The music, too, is not loud but soothing at times. The cinematography contained a contemporary selection of frames, highlighting the storytelling precisely. The innocence of Pazham is never lost, even in the fight scene, to protect his father. The scene where Pazham tries to help his paralyzed father get him up to his bed will surely give you some thrills. It was done in such a way that you can feel the characters’ intense engagement in that frame. You will predict where the story is headed, but it won’t be something you will regret. We’ve seen a lot of childhood friends mature into husband and wife relationships. But, where the industry is forgetting all about romantic comedies, “Thiruchitrambalam” embraced romance in its purest form and offered the audience a great charm.
“Thiruchitrambalam” is a 2022 Indian Romantic Film directed by Mithran Jawahar.
