Thamma Review: Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandana Star in a Horror-Comedy That Struggles to Deliver

In an era where outrage often dominates public discourse, horror-comedy offers a unique lens for social commentary. Maddock Films has previously breathed new life into this genre with hits like Stree, Bhediya, and more recently, Munjya. However, their latest offering, Thamma, sees this promising blend of the natural and supernatural falter significantly. The film appears more concerned with expanding its “desi multiverse” than crafting a truly engaging narrative. Director Aditya Sarpotdar and his team of writers drew inspiration from Hindu mythology’s blood-sucking vampires, attempting to build a world where humans and ‘betaals’ coexist, highlighting how self-serving individuals on both sides disrupt this delicate balance. Unfortunately, this ambitious concept feels underdeveloped, leaving viewers with a rather bland, almost “adulterated” cinematic experience.

Previously, director Dibakar Banerjee shared his perspective, stating, “All artists are essentially propagandists.”

The plot centers on Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana), a journalist obsessed with sensational, supernatural tales. After a bizarre encounter with a wild bear, he’s saved by Tadaka (Rashmika Mandana), an enigmatic woman whose heart doesn’t beat. Alok soon finds himself in a jungle governed by its own ancient laws, where the tribe’s leader, Thamma (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), is imprisoned for transgressions committed during the nation’s Partition. This intriguing mix of myth and modern history sets an interesting stage. Alok convinces Tadaka to join him in his world, where she assumes the identity of Tarika but struggles to fit in. His father (portrayed brilliantly by the comedic Paresh Rawal) views her with suspicion, while his mother (Geeta Agarwal Sharma, shining as Bollywood’s quintessential mom) is bewildered by her unusual eating habits. The film presents chances to explore an outsider’s struggle within a new family, spiced with supernatural elements. An unforeseen accident transforms Alok into a blood-sucking being, forcing him to confront whether he can retain his humanity.

Unfortunately, much of this promising thematic subversion never truly comes to life on screen. The film’s opening feels disjointed and overly self-conscious, almost as if an AI was tasked with generating horror-comedy tropes and jokes without genuine narrative cohesion.

The artificiality is palpable throughout. The first half feels like a lackluster, poorly lit endeavor, clearly designed more to extend the “Stree-Bhediya-Munjya” supernatural universe than to tell a compelling story. Viewers will likely find themselves consistently a step ahead of the characters, as the plot unfolds with the predictability of a university sketch about vampires. The horror lacks any genuine scares, the central inter-species romance fails to ignite any real emotion, and the comedy feels forced and uninspired.

Regarding its mythological foundation, the film’s reliance on the ‘Raktabeej’ legend feels uninspired, a narrative device overused in recent Hindi cinema, making the monster feel like a product of an anemic imagination. Predictable item numbers punctuate the storyline with algorithmic precision, only for the narrative to finally embrace darker, more complex tones in the second half.

(Image: A still from ‘Thamma’, Photo Credit: Maddock Films)

Within this purportedly grand universe, the actors’ tendency towards overacting becomes particularly grating. Rashmika Mandana, for instance, maintains an inexplicably wide-eyed expression throughout. The presence of a dialogue coach is glaringly obvious. Ayushmann Khurrana constantly seems to emphasize his shift from an “everyman” persona to a “superhero” archetype, while Nawazuddin Siddiqui devours the VFX-heavy scenery, seemingly intent on resurrecting the sly ‘betaal’ image famously embodied by Sajjan in Ramanand Sagar’s Vikram-Betaal.

For another recent take on the genre, check out our review of ‘Bhagwat Chapter 1: Raakshas’, where Arshad Warsi and Jitendra Kumar navigate a familiar crime thriller.

While the actors are certainly talented, they are unfortunately let down by sluggish writing that takes far too long to find its rhythm. It’s only after the intermission that the narrative truly picks up, as Aditya Sarpotdar finally infuses the screenplay with some much-needed depth and direction. Crucially, the deeper, subversive layers of the story—elements that could make this interconnected “metaverse” genuinely compelling—begin to surface. When the themes of social belonging and exclusion come into focus, the emotional resonance finally hits home, and Sachin Jigar-Amitabh Bhattacharya’s beautiful composition “Rahein Na Rahein Hum” starts to strike a chord. The stakes are raised considerably during a thrilling confrontation between Bhediya (Varun Dhawan, in a memorable cameo) and Betal in a Delhi neighborhood. The dynamic presence of Sathyaraj, reprising his flamboyant exorcist role from Munjya, expertly weaves together the supernatural threads from these different universes. With additional doses of organic humor from Abhishek Banerjee and Faisal Malik (known for his work in Panchayat), the second half transforms into a surprisingly engaging experience.

Amidst the chaos, the film occasionally offers intriguing glimpses into animalistic behavior within humans and the unexpected value of truthfulness among creatures. For instance, the angered wolf cannot bear to see its own reflection, and the moment our newly transformed Betal speaks a lie, his fangs instantly appear. The narrative also attempts to touch upon a subtle caste dynamic, featuring a Yadav police officer harboring a hidden secret.

However, for the deeper layers of a story to truly resonate, the surface narrative must first be compelling. In Thamma, these two aspects rarely align effectively. In an era where creative endeavors are often judged by a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down, Thamma regrettably lands somewhere in the middle, failing to fully commit to either success or outright failure.

“Thamma” is now showing in cinemas.