Tholvi F C

Vampire Owl: I would like to sponsor this football club.

Vampire Bat: We are not allowed to sponsor clubs of humans.

Vampire Owl: But I have the money, like human cash.

Vampire Bat: It has never been about the money.

Vampire Owl: Well, for humans, it has always been about the money.

Vampire Bat: Uncle Dracula has never talked about money.

Vampire Owl: This is about survival in an evil human world.

Vampire Bat: You can try sponsoring any drink some vampire business instead.

Vampire Owl: We shouldn’t do business, for we lose money.

Vampire Bat: Well, we live in a vampire welfare society. There is no need of too much cash.

[Gets a chicken pizza and three cups of Bagdogra tea].

What is the movie about? :: Oommen (Sharaf U Dheen) is an engineer who quit his job in IT industry at Bangalore to start his own business in the form of a grand tea shop known as Chai Nation Private Limited, which he established close to an It park. But the venture is not successful, and his plans to expand the business gets nowhere. His father Kuruvila (Johny Antony) is only interested in making profit by investing in cryptocurrency, and he miserably fails in doing the same like he had earlier did with share market. Thambi (George Kora), Oommen’s brother is running a football club for children known as Thambi FC, based out of Kadavanthra. But the team has always been losing matches, especially to their newfound nemesis Bolgatty FC. Shoshamma (Asha Madathil Sreekanth) is not happy about her jobless husband Kuruvilla or the two sons who are also of no use. During one of the games, he gets to meet Mariyam (Meenakshi Raveendran), who is very much interested in football, and has returned to her sister Shahana (Anju Abraham) and brother-in-law Feroz (Abraham Joseph) who forms a typical orthodox family. She had only recently divorced her husband at Qatar, which has led to her living a lonely life.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The struggles of Oommen, Thambi and Kuruvilla comes together with the failed attempts of Shoshamma to get her book published while going through her life as a librarian. Her psychological thriller keeps getting rejected by different publishers. Oomen is in love with Sharmin (Poonam Gurung) from Tibet who used to work with him, while Thambi and Mariyam gets closer to each other as much as they go keep the passion for football. Oomen’s attempts to impress a potential sponsor Althaf (Althaf Salim) fails miserably, while Thambi F C losses its players after a fight which breaks out after a match. Both Thambi F C and Chai Nation continues to be in trouble as the latter forms the main sponsor for the team. Kuruvilla is forced to get out of home as he losses more of the money earned by Shoshamma. Oomen’s relationship with Sharmin also gets into trouble. The family struggles to keep things going, as life gets more and more difficult for them to remain normal. Can they finally go past the struggles and get what each of them wishes to achieve in their lives?

The defence of Tholvi F C :: We have always looked for some fine family movies which we can relate to, and finish the movie with some happiness that can be kept with us for long. The message about gaining success in life is asserted strongly again and again. We are never short of the need to have some inspirational movies as long as they do not overdo their ideas with impossible or useless ideas which lead us to trouble. This movie knows where it stands in relation to that, and even though the investment and innovation mode might feel extra, the overall thing remains interesting and connectible to all of us. There are only a few feel-good movies with family and children that have managed to make a good impression on me, and this is surely one of them. Unlike some other overrated families in Malayalam movies, this is surely one family that we can love better than other. The comic side is very good, and they also feel realistic and close to our lives, sometimes reminding us of the pathetic state of affairs all around us, serving as satire too. Some of the dialogues are nicely written to stay in our minds and situations are created in the same way too. The significance of tea is also asserted so well, and a dream come true for all tea lovers to see the drink taking centre stage at times.

The claws of flaw :: There are moments when Tholvi F C tries to force some feel-good factor when the chance was not really there. The elements of football could have been taken in a better way. Some parts of the movie seem to be added just for the sake of having them there, even though no movie needs to focus on giving equality and liberty ideas all the time. There are moments when quick solution achieved despite going deeper, as humour takes over fast enough to overtake the tension. The problems of motherly figure also get a little too less attention here, as the character was the one who could have had much more to display here. The scattering of the elements of the movie is surely uneven, as it struggles to combine them at times. Sometimes, the movie does try too hard all of a sudden, but then we also realize that it is moving towards that aim of being full feel-good, to which tireless striving and the requirement not to yield is to be asserted, and we also let it go and move along. Still, a better title would have inspired more people to watch this one for sure.

The performers of the soul :: The main role of the movie is handled well by Sharaf U Dheen, who had already done a similar job well with Madhura Manohara Moham, providing the image of the family man who is not that successful in life. In this case, the bigger struggle belongs to him rather than the others around him, even though the problems belong to all of them. Johny Antony plays the father figure with his own long-lasting troubles well, as his transformation to the hardworking man is well-portrayed and combination scenes with Asha Madathil Sreekanth work really well. George Kora, the director plays the other character that undergoes transformation from the irresponsible to the better man with the touch of humour that keeps the movie getting better as it progresses. What strikes us more is Meenakshi Raveendran in a serious role which never ceases to be impressive. From Naayika Nayikan days and the later Udan Panam days with Dain Davis, we knew that she was a talent to be remembered, and she re-iterates the same even though she has not been provided which that many roles in the industry. The emotional side is as much safe with her as the humour. Althaf Salim and Anuraj O B nicely adds to the overall humour with some fine funny moments, and the child actors are really good here.

How it finishes :: Tholvi F C never really moves away from its feel-good factor, and the possibilities that it can achieve with simple family humour. This is one movie which is powered by its female lead more than any other even though it is not that much marketed in the same way, as Meenakshi Raveendran keeps scoring so well with multiple sides of life. There is no doubt about the fact that the movie could have been better with the progression of a tale which intends to be inspiring, but the purpose is nicely served in the end. For a new year, we should be looking for movies which would motivate us to do better, and this movie in Amazon Prime Video now, does the same with effectiveness. This drama about dysfunctional families never gets out of the light mood, even though some dark shades and a feeling of real danger comes in the end. We have some beginning to 2024 through the OTT platform, and we can only hope that the same can be there in the theatres too, as we wish another fine year for Malayalam movie industry which brings more collections and even more viewers than last year with bigger getting ready for release.

Release date: 4th January 2024 (Amazon Prime Video); 3rd November 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: George Kora
Starring: Sharaf U Dheen, Johny Antony, Meenakshi Raveendran, George Kora, Asha Madathil Sreekanth, Althaf Salim, Rahul Riji Nair, Poonam Gurung, Anuraj OB, Ashlee Issac Abraham, Joemon Jyothir, Amith Mohan Rajeshwari, Srikanth Mohan, Abraham Joseph, Anju Abraham, Ayden Abraham