Madhupal who turned actor through Rajeev Anchal's 'Kashmeeram' in the early nineties, was actually assisting the director, when he was unexpectedly offered the plum role of the crucial villain of the movie. Madhupal then found success on small screen as well, working as an anchor, actor and even directed a few tele serials. Now after a decade in the industry, Madhupal is stepping back to film direction with a sensitive, close to real life story that tell more about truthfulness of conscience and friendship. His debut flick titled 'Thalappavu' portrays an untold drama of friendship.
'Thalappavu' in Malayalam means the headdress or turban, usually a symbol of power and authority. And for the working class, a 'Thalappavu' provides relief from the burning sun and pelting rain. The title of the movie show cases the brutalities of power that is often unleashed into the downtrodden. The movie bases on the actual life story of the killing of a naxalite youth named Varghese, by the police in an encounter in the 1970's.
A multi layered film, 'Thalappavu' zooms in on diverse issues; the prime focus is that of friendship. The film depicts a very strange kind of friendship that between policeman constables named Raveendran Pillai and a naxalite youth named Joseph who has taken up arms against the system. Joseph is named by the law as a criminal who must be eliminated, according to the ruling class.
Joseph is actually a savior for the working class, always in the lead for fighting for their rights .The policeman and the rebel meet accidentally and one becomes an ardent supporter of the other.
The two share a very intense kind of bond, like that between brothers or the best of friends. The relationship between a hardcore revolutionary and a policeman is usually distressing for the governments .Destiny play an important twist in this queer sort of friendship where Raveendran Pillai, as part of performing his duty, is forced to shoot and kill his friend.
'Thalappavu' thus becomes the story of a policeman, who lives in the realization that he has to give in to death if he does not become a killer himself. And even after the deed, Raveendran Pillai is continuously haunted by the memories of his rarest friend and a guilty conscience of killing someone with whom he himself identified so much in life. Through the film Madhupaal is trying to portray this regular shameless violation of law by those who are bound to protect them.
Prithviraj becomes Joseph in 'Thalappavu' while Lal has his role of the life time as Raveendran Pillai. Atul Kulkarni, who shoot to stardom with films like ‘Chandni Bar’, ‘Hey Ram’, ‘Page 3’, ‘Satta’, ‘Corporate’ and ‘Rang De Basanthi’ makes his debut in Malayalam donning a key role in the film.
Also in the cast of the movie are Jagathy Sreekumar, Rohini, Dhanya, Sharanya, Parvathy, Gayathri, Manaianpillai Raju and Sreejith Ravi , Babu Janardhanan is behind the powerful screenplay of the movie while Azhagappan wields the camera. Alexpaul set the tunes for the movie with lyrics from O N V Kurup while Don Max is the editor. Produced by Tamil actor Silver jubilee Mohan under the banner of Civic Cinemas, ‘Thalappavu’ is brought to the theatres by Lal Release. The movie will grace the Kerala theatres as an Onam release.
