Thamma Review: Rashmika and Ayushmann’s Vampire Love Story Is Diwali’s Wildest Ride
A vampire rom-com with fangs, fun, and festive thrills.
Aditya Sarpotdar’s Thamma, a vibrant addition to the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU), merges folklore-driven fantasy with playful romance, delivering a Diwali release that pulses with energy and innovation. Scripted by Niren Bhatt, Suresh Mathew, and Arun Fulara, the film weaves a tale of an inter-species love story between a bumbling journalist, Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana), and a vampire, Taraka (Rashmika Mandanna). Set in a forest commune of vampires striving to coexist with humans, Thamma balances solemn myth with tongue-in-cheek humor, incorporating nods to Stree and Bhediya through cameos by Varun Dhawan and Abhishek Banerjee, while playfully referencing global icons like Wolverine and Dracula.
The narrative opens in 323 BC, where Alexander the Great’s arrogance meets its match in vampire-infested woods, setting the stage for a modern-day clash of worlds. Alok, saved from a bear attack by Taraka’s love-at-first-sniff intervention, faces peril from her kin, led by the chained, blood-thirsty lord Yakshasan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). As Alok lures Taraka, renamed Tarika, into his human world, familial suspicions—particularly from his father (Paresh Rawal)—spark chaos. The film’s brisk pacing and clever cross-references, including a nod to the 1970s Bollywood horror Jaani Dushman, keep it engaging, with a compact finale that delivers high-impact action without overstretching credulity.
Thamma thrives on its genre-blending finesse, deftly navigating between zany comedy and otherworldly intrigue while grounding itself in tangible, culturally rich settings. A standout sequence features a netherworld bar with centuries-old blood bottles, backdrop to Nora Fatehi’s lively item number, complemented by Malaika Arora’s seamless musical cameo. The film sidesteps conventional horror or slapstick, carving a unique space between Stree and Munjya. Subtle historical allusions, like the Partition riots as a plot device, add depth without derailing the fun, ensuring broad appeal as a festive entertainer.
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The cast elevates the experience, with Khurrana and Mandanna excelling in roles that demand both bewilderment and charm, their expressive eyes and prosthetic fangs conveying equal parts emotion and whimsy—Mandanna’s gaze stealing the show. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Yakshasan is a tour de force, blending flash and nuance in a performance that anchors the film’s more extravagant moments. Supported by Geeta Agrawal Sharma’s warm maternal role, Thamma teeters on excess but remains balanced, offering a fresh, vibrant chapter in the MHCU that proves both entertaining and impactful for Diwali audiences.
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