Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

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Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum
Poster
Directed by	Dileesh Pothan
Written by	Screenplay: Sajeev Pazhoor Dialogues : Syam Pushkaran
Story by	Sajeev Pazhoor
Produced by	Sandip Senan Anish M. Thomas
Starring	Fahadh Faasil Suraj Venjaramoodu
Cinematography	Rajeev Ravi
Edited by	Kiran Das
Music by	Bijibal
Production company	Urvasi Theatres
Distributed by	Urvasi Theatres Tricolor Entertainment[1]
Release date	30 June 2017 (2017-06-30) (India)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Budget	₹65 million [2]

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (transl. The mainour and the witness) is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language crime drama film directed by Dileesh Pothan and written by Sajeev Pazhoor. The film stars Fahadh Faasil, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and Nimisha Sajayan in lead roles, with Alencier Ley Lopez, Vettukili Prakash, and Sibi Thomas in supporting roles. Syam Pushkaran served as a creative director of the film.^[3] Bijibal composed the music^[4] and Rajeev Ravi handled the cinematography.

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum was produced on a budget of ₹65 million.^[5] The film was released on 30 June 2017 in Kerala.^[6] It was a critical and commercial success, grossing ₹179.3 million at Kerala box office alone^[7] The Hindu included the film in their "Top 5 Malayalam movies in 2017"^[8] and "The 25 best Malayalam films of the decade".^[9]

The film won three National Film Awards, two Kerala State Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South, three South Indian International Movie Awards, eight Asianet Film Awards, six CPC Cine Awards, four Vanitha Film Awards, three Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, two Asiavision Awards and one award at International Film Festival of Kerala.

The story follows Sreeja and Prasad a newly married couple from Cherthala. They currently reside in Kasaragod due to opposition of their inter-caste marriage by Sreeja's family. During a bus journey, Sreeja's gold nuptial chain gets snatched from behind by a thief. Sreeja looks back just in time to see him swallowing the chain. She alerts the other passengers, who promptly beat up the suspect and hand him over to the nearby police station.

On police inquiry, the thief says that his name is also Prasad, causing confusion, but does not produce any ID. He claims to work in a hotel at Mangalore and repeatedly denies having stolen the chain. The other Prasad explains that they were planning to sell the chain to drill a borewell on their land, to harvest tobacco plants as their supporting business. The police officers privately contemplate dropping the case due to the thief's lack of ID, but decide against it as the incident happened in public. ASI Chandran asks Sreeja for her testimony, which he downplays sentence by sentence to show her that the grounds are too weak to register a complaint. He suggests that they instead keep the thief at the station overnight till he passes the chain, and the couple agrees. While sending Sreeja on a bus back home, Prasad offends her by saying that she should have been more careful.

Prasad stays back at the police station to keep an eye out on the thief. The thief on the other hand seems to be carefree, eating happily and enjoying the neighbouring Temple Inauguration. The next morning, the police accompany the thief to the toilet but don't find any chain in his feces. Eventually, after an x-ray, it is confirmed that he swallowed the chain as it was there in this stomach. This prompts the police to register an FIR against the thief.

Meanwhile, ASI Chandran asks Sreeja and Prasad to twist the case against the thief, in order to get appreciation, which is realized by the thief later. Next morning, he is again accompanied by the police to the toilet from where he tries to escape. After leading the police on a wild chase through the solar panel fields, he is spotted by Prasad. A struggle happens between them at a canal area and the thief is apprehended and brought back to the police station. At the police station, the thief claims that ASI Chandran had told him to run away by keeping behind the chain at a bus stop. Unable to find the chain, the thief was once again taken for scanning. But this time, there was no chain in his stomach. Realizing his job is in danger, ASI Chandran replaces the original gold chain to settle the matter and asks Sreeja to play along in a bid to charge the thief.

Next day, as the ASI asked, Sreeja signs the document by falsely confessing that the chain found by police belongs to her. However, as the cops step outside the room, the thief convinces Sreeja and her husband that they should tell the court that the chain does not belong to them and tells them where he actually threw her gold chain (near the canal). Prasad is later shown finding the gold chain as he searches the canal area specified by the thief.

In the end, the thief who is shown to be free, is writing a thank you note to Sreeja presumably for telling the truth in the court which freed him. ASI Chandran is seen spending time with his grandchildren, suggesting he took an early retirement. Sreeja and Prasad were shown to be happy after they found water from the borewell. They were ready to harvest tobacco plants.

Initially Pazhoor thought of directing the film himself, before Pothan came on-board.^[10] About the genre of the film, Pothen said that he is not sure which genre the film falls in, but it surely has the elements of a "family drama".^[11] For some of the police roles, the film features real-life police officers in the cast. Newcomer Nimisha Sajayan was selected from general auditions. Principal photography commenced from 7 December 2016 in Kasaragod. Other locations include Vaikom and Cherthala.^[12]

The music and background score for the film is composed by Bijibal, who has previously worked with Dileesh Pothan in Maheshinte Prathikaaram.^[13]

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum was released in India on 30 June 2017.^[14]

Critic Veeyen termed the movie has sardonic wisecracks and the continual cackles, which fundamentally holds the charm of an otherwise unexciting film. He closes of by signifying the exceptional intelligence and grace the film has in terms of flow.^[15]

Bharadwaj, in the review of the film, stated that "Fahadh Faasil's equal parts lazy and wily trickster acting and Alencier Ley Lopez's character acting as luminously exceptional." He praises on the beauty of police office politics that Dileesh & Sajeev was able to portray as the drive that calibrates the film. Manorama praises real-life police officer Sibi Thomas for his comedic and yet balanced performance.^[16]

Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "Simply put, Pothan’s films aren’t about the incidents suggested by the titles, but around them. Instead of zooming in, narratively speaking, he goes for the wide shot. This is a generous approach to filmmaking. It says that the main characters are a part of the world around them, and this world needs to be acknowledged as well."^[17]

Director Shekhar Kapur, jury chairman of 65th National Film Awards commented: "Brilliant film, impressive performance. First you will think it is a simple film with usual romance and elopement. But how subtle are the things introduced in the film? The movie takes a serious turn by the end, leaving you appalled. I have never seen such an excellent performance by actors,".^[18]

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum has collected ₹50 million gross in the first weekend,^[2] in 50-days movie collected ₹173 million gross from Kerala box office.^[19] The film was a commercial success. It grossed ₹175 million from Kerala box office in its lifetime.^[20]

• Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum at IMDb