thama movie review

singluar Tuesday, October 21, 2025

“Thama” Review — A Festive Fright with Heart (and Some Flaws)

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When you set out to make a film in the festive‑release slot, blending horror, comedy, romance and myth‑lore, you’re playing in four lanes at once. That’s exactly what Thama aims to do. And for the most part it succeeds — giving you a fun, stylised outing with big stars, some genuine thrills, an interesting premise. But it also stumbles here and there, especially in the execution and tonal consistency. Let’s dive in.

The Premise & Setup

“Thama” belongs to the universe of the production house Maddock Films (which has delivered horror‑comedies like Stree, Bhediya and Munjya). It’s being billed as the first full‑fledged “love story” within their horror‑comedy universe.
At the centre:

Ayushmann Khurrana plays Alok, a historian who stumbles into ancient vampiric lore and must reconcile his human identity with dark legacies.
Rashmika Mandanna plays “Tadaka” (or a vampiric counterpart) — the fiercest element of the supernatural side.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Paresh Rawal populate the ensemble with villainous and comedic flavours respectively.

The story reportedly spans across two timelines (modern day + ancient kingdom like the Vijayanagar empire) and folds in vampire myth within an Indian context.
From the teaser and early buzz: the film promised high production values, ambitious design, and a hook that Indian audiences haven’t fully seen — a vampire‑romance set in an Indian mythic landscape.

What Works — The High Points

1. Star performances & chemistry
Ayushmann is in comfortable territory: a lead with charisma, who handles both the lighter comedy/horror beats and emotional moments. Critics have flagged that he “anchors the film” well.

Rashmika, in a departure from her usual roles, sheds the by‑now‑familiar “rom‑com heroine” look and embraces the supernatural‑female persona. This shift works for the film’s tone and adds freshness.

2. Visual ambition and setting
The film’s two‑timeline structure (ancient kingdom ↔ present) gives it a scale and sweep that many Bollywood horror‑comedies shy away from. The use of myth, folklore and gothic aesthetics (vampires, blood‑love across centuries) add to its “event film” appeal.
The idea of grafting vampire lore into Indian myth is intriguing: it offers a chance for novelty, not just rehashing Western tropes. As one article says: “If Thama succeeds in executing a story similar to the Chanderi folklore of Stree2 … the audiences may resonate with it.”

3. Entertainment value — festival‑friendly
Released around Diwali (October 21 2025) with a big cast, the film is clearly designed as a festive crowd‑pleaser. Early reviews call it a “well‑packaged entertainer” with humour, romance and horror mixed.

What Doesn’t Work — The Letdowns

1. Promotional woes & tone confusion
The film’s marketing has been inconsistent:

The posters were criticised for poor design and lack of polish.
The teaser and trailer garnered mixed feedback. Some viewers found the humour forced, VFX thin, horror weak.

When you are promising a mythic horror‑romance, but your visuals or tone feel patchy, the disconnect can hurt the viewer’s immersion.

2. Genre‑bending risk: too many lanes
The film wants to be horror + comedy + romance + myth + vampire lore. That’s a lot. Some critiques suggest that the horror element is muted, the romance is predictable, and the comedy sometimes feels pandering to memes rather than organically emerging from character or situation.
When you have a character who is a historian‑turned‑vampire, you expect some depth of transformation, stakes and emotional payoff. If that gets eclipsed by item songs or jarring tonal shifts, the result can feel less cohesive.

3. Rooting the myth in Indian soil
Though the film attempts to blend vampire lore into an Indian mythic context, some commentators remain sceptical if vampires (a largely Western trope) will resonate with Indian audiences in a deep way — unless they are thoroughly re‑imagined.

If the script doesn’t anchor the supernatural in convincing internal logic or cultural resonance, the audience may feel it as “imported” rather than indigenous.

Themes & Takeaways

Love Across Time & Bloodlines
At its core, the film plays with the idea of love enduring beyond lifetimes, and bloodline legacies that persist through centuries. The vampire figure becomes symbolic: immortality, longing, the curse/blessing of eternal life, the burden of history. That’s a rich thematic soil.

Humanity vs Monstrosity
Alok’s transformation (or his struggle) raises the question: what happens when the human becomes the monster — or the monster reclaims the human? Vampire stories often revolve around that tension. If Thama utilises this properly, it can provide emotional depth. Some reviews hint that it does.

Folklore, Identity & Reinvention
By situating the narrative in an Indian mythic past as well as modern day, the film asks: how do ancient horrors or wonders reflect in today’s world? And how do we reinterpret mythologies for contemporary times? The notion of vampirism being traced to Indian antiquity (rather than Western Gothic) is promising. Again: execution will determine whether the film succeeds or merely glances at this idea.

Verdict — Worth a Visit?

If you’re looking for a clean, festive‑season outing with big stars, visual flair, some laughs, and a supernatural twist — yes, Thama delivers. The positives (performances, ambition, novelty) are significant enough to recommend it for a theatre‑watch with friends or family.

If, however, you crave razor‑sharp horror, tightly interwoven genre beats, and complete tonal precision — you might find yourself wishing for more. The film is fun, but not flawless.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 (with the caveat that the final mark may shift depending on whether it leans into its strengths in the theatre experience).
It’s a strong outing for its ambition, but the cracks show when you look for perfect delivery.

Final Thoughts

In the ever‑crowded space of Bollywood entertainment, especially in the run‑up to a major festival release, making something that stands out is hard. Thama takes a bold step by choosing vampire lore (not common in mainstream Hindi cinema), wrapping it in romance and horror, and placing it in a culturally resonant Indian framework. On paper, that’s gold.

What really counts is whether it touches your emotions, gives you genuine chills or laughs, and leaves you with something to talk about beyond the popcorn. On that front, Thama mostly succeeds. It might not reinvent the wheel, and for purists it may feel uneven — but for someone who enjoys a night at the movies with a little fun and a bite of supernatural, it’s a worthy choice.