Movie Review Thamma | Soulless

Maddock Films extends its Horror-Comedy Universe (MHCU) with Thamma, pitched as a hor-rom-com (horror romantic comedy) mixing Indian folklore, mythology, and modern satire. Directed by Munjya’s Aditya Sarpotdar, it promises a fresh supernatural romance but collapses under overblown world-building and forced humour.

The film opens in 323 BC, where Sikandar (Alexander the Great) in Bharat, alarming the Betaals. The scene exists only to announce their ancient roots — visually grand, narratively pointless.

In the present, Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana), a Delhi journalist influencer, stumbles into the hidden world of Betaals. After a brutal encounter, he’s saved by Tadka / Tarika (Rashmika Mandanna), herself a Betaal. As she protects him from her own kind, love brews between them — the film’s only pulse amid chaos.

The story alternates between Delhi and the Betaals’ secret settlement, ruled by their chained leader Thamma / Yakshasan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), imprisoned for defying their laws. He can only be freed when another Betaal breaks the same rule. Alok’s accidental entry triggers Thamma’s release and a war between humans and Betaals.

In a clumsy attempt to tie into the larger Maddock universe, Bhediya (Varun Dhawan) appears, seeking Alok’s blood to boost his powers. By the end, Alok learns that drinking Bhediya’s blood could make him stronger — a pointless, mechanical crossover that serves the franchise more than the story.

With its soulless structure and franchise-driven plotting, Thamma feels less like a film and more like a marketing extension linking Stree, Bhediya, Munjya, and now Thamma.

Ayushmann Khurrana anchors the film with easy charm, but shallow writing leaves him adrift. His evolution from influencer to reluctant hero feels rushed. Rashmika Mandanna gives Tadka intensity, but uneven dubbing and accent make her dialogue land awkwardly. Their chemistry works only in quiet pauses.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Thamma is disappointingly flat — mythic in setup, lifeless in delivery. Paresh Rawal is underused, Sathyaraj’s cameo as a priest border on parody, and Varun Dhawan’s brief appearance feels contractual.

Tonally, Thamma never settles — not scary enough for horror, not witty enough for comedy, not tender enough for romance. The humour strains, the scares fizzle, and the romance suffocates beneath CGI and uneven pacing. The 1947 flashback looks cliché with no depth. The music by Sachin–Jigar, including the catchy “Tum Mere Na Huye”, feels misplaced, while the background score overwhelms.

Instead of expanding the MHCU organically, Thamma feels engineered. Cameos, callbacks, and name-drops replace heart and coherence. The wit and invention of Stree and Bhediya are missing — replaced by mechanical universe-building.

The film may be positioned as a horror romantic comedy, but the love is bland, and the blood runs thin.

Bottom line: Thamma wants to deepen the Maddock universe with myth and romance but ends up a patchwork of half-baked ideas. Flashy, noisy, and forgettable — a film that bites off more than it can chew.

Movie: Thamma
Director: Aditya Sarpotdar
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Paresh Rawal, Faisal Malik, Geeta Aggarwal, Rachit Singh, Ankit Mohan
Run Time: 150mins
Theatrical Release Date: 21 October 2025
Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime