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Tickets for Thudarum are selling like hot cakes, and many are hailing this film as the comeback of vintage Mohanlal. Indeed, the performances of the cast members, including Mohanlal, Prakash Varma, Binu Pappu, and Shobana, all do justice to their respective roles.
The film presents its story through flashbacks, unveiling past events gradually. However, we won’t be adopting that style here; instead, we’ll proceed from the beginning in a straightforward, chronological order.
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Back in the day, Mohanlal’s character, Shanmughan alias Benz, was a stunt artist, and Vijay Sethupathi’s character, Anbu, was his colleague. Unfortunately, during an accident, in a bid to save Benz, Anbu dies. Shobana’s character, Lalitha, was Anbu’s wife, and together they had a 4-year-old son named Pavi, who eventually grows up and is portrayed by Thomas Mathew.
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Following Anbu’s death, Benz marries Lalitha, taking on the role of Pavi’s stepfather. The family chooses to leave Tamil Nadu, since the stunt artists involved in the accident that claimed Anbu’s life were blacklisted. As a farewell gesture, Benz’s employer, the fight master, gifts him a black Ambassador car, which Benz continues to use for his work. Eventually, Benz and Lalitha welcome a daughter into their family.
Decades have passed, and Pavi is now in his college years. He is in love with Mary George, portrayed by Aarsha Chandini Baiju, but her father, George, played by Prakash Varma, is against this relationship.
A minor incident changes Benz’s life forever. The Ambassador was seized during a routine vehicle check conducted by the police for transporting narcotics. Benz wasn’t transporting narcotics; he had given the vehicle to a service center, and the mechanic, while in his custody, transported the narcotics. When Sub Inspector Benny apprehended him in a bid to escape, the mechanic beat him up. As a result, the vehicle was seized and held at the police station, and Benz was informed that the vehicle would only be released once the police got their hands on the mechanic.
One night, Pavi is taken to the police station, where George is the station house officer. There, he and his subordinate, Sub Inspector Benny, portrayed by Binu Pappu, kill Pavi for being in love with George’s daughter and threatening to reveal some of George’s secrets. Afterwards, the dead body is stuffed into Benz’s black Ambassador car.
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That same night, after Pavi’s tragic death, Benz visits the police station to ask George to release his vehicle. George agrees and instructs Benny to return the car. However, Benny initially hesitates, as George isn’t aware of the body still being inside. Benny then informs George that the body is still in the car. Later, George decides to hire Benz’s Ambassador as a taxi to attend a colleague’s sister’s pre-marriage party.
Upon arriving at the event location, Benny takes the key to the Ambassador from Benz. After some time, Benz is instructed to drive them to a remote area deep in the jungle. Initially hesitant, Benz reluctantly agrees. During the journey, tension builds between him, George, and Benny. The colleague, whose sister was about to get married the following day, is also present in the vehicle.
As they drive, George reveals a chilling information: there is a dead body in the car, that of a young man who had been involved with the bride. They killed him because he had compromising videos of her.
With no choice but to comply, Benz follows their orders. After disposing of the body, he returns home. When he checks the boot of the car, he finds blood and a wallet. In his panic, as the dog barks, he accidentally throws the wallet into the bushes. Distraught, he forgets about it and cleans the car, trying to return to his normal life.
Benz soon realizes that his son is missing, and an investigation begins, raising suspicions in his mind—especially when he notices his son’s Pulsar bike at the police station. That night, Benz decides to search for the wallet he had thrown into the bushes. When he retrieves it, he is shocked to find that it belongs to his son.
At the same time, a landslide occurs at the location where the body was disposed of. During the rescue operation, the body is discovered by the rescue team. It is quickly identified as Benz’s son.
George and Benny concoct a false story, claiming that Benz was behind the murder. They accuse the siblings of having an incestuous relationship, suggesting that Benz killed his son because of it. To back up their fabricated story, the police violently beat both Lalitha and her daughter in an attempt to force them to confess to these false allegations.
Meanwhile, Benz kidnaps the police officer who was present when he, George, and Benny disposed of the body. The officer claims he had no knowledge of the murder and was only asked to guide them through the jungle. Benz is eventually captured by the police, but George, with the help of Benny and officers from the armed reserve camp, plans to have Benz killed. The plot fails, and Benz manages to kill Benny and escape from the police.
As George persistently torments Benz’s family in an attempt to capture him, Benz reaches out to George. He tells George to come to his house, where his daughter, Mary, is home alone. When they meet, a struggle ensues, resulting in Benz killing George. Mary witnesses the entire ordeal.
Later, Mary visits Lalitha and her daughter during Pavi’s funeral. As the story reaches its conclusion, Benz is shown being escorted to court in handcuffs. Outside the courthouse, Mary stands with Benz’s family, fulfilling the promise Pavi made earlier, Mary is now considered part of Benz’s family. A reporter approaches Benz, asking if he killed his son. Benz answers truthfully.
For more such stories, check out Down South
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