HORROR DIES, COMEDY FADES

AYUSHMANN Khurrana turning into a vampire may seem like a clever extension in the actor's filmography.

- SHREYAS PANDE

Right from his debut in 2012 with Vicky Donor, Ayushmann has played underconfident, male characters who have trouble coming to terms with either their identity (Dream Girl, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan) or dealing with the distinctiveness of their physical personality (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Bala). What if now, he develops extended fangs, his eyes turn red and his heart stops beating? The idea is only mildly amusing in a year where vampires have invited much subversion, whether it is in the rousing, fablelike charm of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners or the blend of a local legend with sci-fi sensibilities in Dominic Arun’s Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. Unlike these films, however, Thamma gets along with bare minimum. It starts without any sign of novelty before roaring away into 150 minutes of nothingness.