SonyLIV recently dropped its second-ever Malayalam direct-to-OTT release… And it was surprisingly good. Titled, ‘Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam’, this film came out of nowhere and wowed critics and filmgoers alike and it is one of the more popular Malayalam movies that is currently streaming on an OTT platform. The film has many good points – the casting, the acting, the references, cinematography, editing and direction, but the best part of the film is the writing. The film is filled with multiple setups & payoffs – which varies from very subtle to highly obvious. Many viewers will miss these subtle payoffs, so here are four of them, that you missed while watching SonyLIV’s ‘Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam’:
The Drunkards & The Cops
At the very beginning of the film, there is a five-minute-long single frame shot that features a couple of friends drinking at an abandoned bus stand. They then meet a pair of cops who are looking for Vijayan’s house. While we do not know what was happening here at the time – we will once we watch the film again. The cops are going to Vijayan’s house after his youngest daughter, Suja elopes, while the drunkards actually find Suja and the man she loves and escort them back home.
Vijayan’s Caricature
While Vijayan was using his son’s hair gel, he finds a book where his son, Sujith, draws caricatures. Inside, Vijayan finds an unflattering caricature of himself, featuring a large, round tummy. We think nothing of it till Vijayan mentions it in anger when he is shouting at Sujith for stealing his money.
No Plates For Guests
Vijayan’s wife, Lalitha, asks her husband to give her money to buy a set of plates for the house; he does not give her, since he thinks the expense is unnecessary. Later, when Vijayan’s family members turn up during lunchtime, Vijayan asks his wife to set plates at the table, to which she says to cut some banana leaves, for we have run out of plates.
Using Products With “Chemicals”
Surabhi’s aunt tells her daughter to stop using products with chemicals for it will start to cause problems for the skin and hair, to which her daughter responds, “Who finished her Fair & Lovely?”. Technically, this is the payoff because we see Vijayan use his son’s hair gel at the beginning of the film – which is the setup. It is also a running theme in the film that parents don’t exactly listen to their own advice – so this is quite a subtle set-up.