Thandel Movie Review: Naga Chaitanya Delivers A Career-Best Performance As He And Sai Pallavi Outshine The Film

Last Updated:February 07, 2025, 18:43 IST

Thandel Movie Review: Naga Chaitanya’s film is loosely based on real-life events, of 22 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh getting arrested by Pakistan’s Navy and struggling to get home.

Thandel Movie Review: Thandel becomes the much-needed breakthrough for Naga Chaitanya, who establishes himself as an able actor, something he has been striving for a while now. The Telugu actor plays the role of Raju, a fisherman from a coastal village in Andhra Pradesh, named Machidesam. The fishermen in the town make a living off travelling to the Gujarat coast and fishing in the treacherous waters, which borders a Pakistan-controlled region. Raju, the Thandel, the captain of the village’s fisherman, is deeply in love with Sathya (Sai Pallavi), another pillar of the film. Together the two actors make Thandel a moving love story about perseverance and aid hugely in letting go of the blemishes, that are scattered in the movie.

Director Chandoo Mondeti has written Thandel based on the real events that happened in 2018 when 23 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh were arrested by the Pakistan Navy when they entered their waters. However, Thandel is not the story about the entire crew but casts its focus just on Raju and how the drastic event throws his love into immense turmoil.

To make the romance work, Chandoo takes his time to establish the intensity of the couple’s love. Whenever Raju leaves for Gujarat for a nine-month of fishing expedition, Sathya pines for him at home. They take things to some extremes. Signifying their separation, the two fly a flag with the sigil of two fish at the lighthouse of their coastal village. It gets removed upon Raju’s return. Sathya, an avid lover of seafood, goes without it in Raju’s absence. Without a network in the deep ocean, the two are cut off without any communication for nine months and left with the memories of the three months they spend together every year.

Here, Sai Pallavi finds herself in a similar role as Amaran, in which she plays Rebecca Varghese, the wife of a military officer. Hence, the role has become a cakewalk to the actress as she is incredible as Sathya awaiting the return of her lover. On the other hand, Naga Chaitanya complements her skilful performance with equally commendable acting.

He is convincing as the youngster who is torn between being a dedicated lover and a dutiful leader. Devi Sri Prasad’s background score, especially the violin, adds beauty to this romance. However, the songs become a bit forgettable in comparison to the background score.

While the romance becomes the film’s strong point, the second half, which predominantly takes place in a Pakistan jail, takes a generic route. Everything becomes a tad bit predictable with a cardboard cutout for a villain. The same effort that had gone into the writing of the romance becomes a bit absent here as the director resorts to the usual conflicts and emotional manipulations that were seen in several such Indian films about Pakistan.

In an attempt to focus the film on Raju and Sathya, the director, who is also the writer, missed out on the plight of other auxiliary characters. Karunakaran, who plays the fiance of Sathya deserved better than the second-hand treatment he received. Such shortcomings get redeemed again due to Sai Pallavi and Naga Chaitanya–the two shoulder the film even at times when it slumps. In a sense, they do much more to Thandel than the other way around.