Movie: Thamma
Starring: Ayushmamn Khurrana, Rashmika Mandaana, Nawauddin Siddiqui, Paresh Rawal
Director: Aditya Sarpotdar
Genre: Horror-comedy
Release Date: 21.10.2025
Rating: 1.5/5
Girish Wankhede | mumbai@bollywoodtown.in
Oh, dear Bollywood, what have you unleashed upon us with Thamma’, the fifth instalment in Maddock Films’ so-called “supernatural comedy horror” universe? This film is a spectacular trainwreck, a chaotic mishmash of half-baked ideas, recycled tropes, and a script so flimsy it could be blown away by a vampire’s sneeze. Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, who seems to have mistaken “horror-comedy” for “horrific comedy,” Thamma is a two-and-a-half-hour endurance test that leaves you questioning not just your life choices but the very existence of cinema itself. Buckle up, because this satirical roast of Thamma is about to sink its fangs into the absurdity of it all.
Let’s start with the plot—or rather, the fever dream that passes for one. Thamma’ begins with a laughably tiniest army supposedly led by Alexander the Great, no less; who must have downsized his forces to fit the film’s budget. This pint-sized platoon stumbles into a jungle, only to be attacked by vampires—or are they betaals ? The film isn’t sure, and neither are we. Apparently, Alexander’s grand conquest of India is thwarted by these nuisances, and he dies. Yes, dies. If you’re wondering how this ties into the rest of the movie, don’t hold your breath—coherence is not on the menu.
Enter our hero, a journalist played by Ayushmann Khurrana, who wanders into the same jungle for reasons as clear as mud. He’s chased by a CGI bear so unconvincing it looks like it was rendered on a knockoff gaming console from the early 2000s. Fear not, for he’s rescued by Rashmika Mandanna, playing a mysterious woman who’s part Sharon Stone, part Sai Tamhankar, and all deep-neck blouses. Her character lives in a derelict plane with no kitchen, surviving on… vibes? Blood? The film doesn’t bother to clarify. Why she doesn’t suck Ayushmann’s blood remains a mystery, but logic is clearly on vacation here.
The plot then spirals into a vortex of absurdity. We meet a Yakshasan, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who’s imprisoned in a cave for centuries yet speaks Hindi with a Mumbaiyya slang along with English with a side of cringe-worthy humour. His makeup is so over-the-top it makes you wonder if the film’s budget was spent entirely on glitter and item songs. Rashmika’s character, sporting a South Indian accent so exaggerated it sounds like she’s chewing her lines, drags Ayushmann to Delhi for no apparent reason. There, his parents (including a sleepwalking Paresh Rawal) are mourning his presumed death, only to interrogate him about a mole on his lower back instead of, say, hugging their miraculously alive son. Subtlety, thy name is Thamma.
The film’s second half is where things go from bad to “did I accidentally buy tickets to a parallel universe?” Ayushmann becomes a vampire (because why not?), and Varun Dhawan’s Bhediya’ shows up for a cameo that feels like a contractual obligation. There’s also a random inspector with a UP accent, a vampire who speaks in Punjabi accent, and a parallel universe where Malaika Arora and Nora Fatehi dance for no reason whatsoever. The songs, courtesy of Sachin-Jigar and Amitabh Bhattacharya, are so forgettable you’ll hum your grocery list instead. And the interval twist? Ayushmann dies in a car crash while chasing Rashmika’s bus. Yes, she can fly, but apparently, a bus ticket was the vibe. The audience, meanwhile, wishes they could crash out of the theatre.
The writing, credited to Niren Bhatt, Suresh Mathew, and Arun Fara, is a masterclass in how to offend storytelling. It’s as if they threw Indian mythology, the Twilight saga, and a discount horror novel into a blender and hit “puree.” The dialogue is so clunky it could double as a workout for your eardrums, and the characters’ motivations are as clear as a foggy night in a jungle.Rashmika’s single-expression performance is a testament to her commitment to looking confused, while Nawazuddin overacts so hard you’d think he was auditioning for a community theatre Play. Paresh Rawal, bless his soul, looks like he’s mentally drafting his resignation letter. Only Saurabh Goswami’s cinematography emerges unscathed, capturing the chaos with a polish the rest of the film doesn’t deserve.
Thamma wants to be a horror-comedy but forgets both the horror and the comedy. The scares are as terrifying as a puppy in a Halloween costume, and the jokes land with the grace of a drunk uncle at a wedding. The film’s budget, reportedly over ₹100 crore, seems to have been spent on CGI that looks like it was outsourced to a middle school art class. Compare this to Stree, the franchise’s promising start, which had wit, charm, and a novel premise. Thamma, by contrast, is a soulless cash grab, a reminder that franchise fatigue is real and Maddock Films is milking it dry.
In the grand tradition of pulp fiction, Thamma aspires to be gloriously trashy but lands squarely in “Betaal” territory, without any ‘taal’(pun intended). Unlike the pulp novels which resulted in some socially resonant films in’70s ; this film has no substance, no message, and no heart. The Maddock universe, once buoyed by Stree’s novelty and Stree 2’s music and brand recall, has sunk to new lows with Thamma, a film that doesn’t entertain, scare, or even mildly amuse. Director, Aditya Sarpotdar who earlier gave us ‘Munjya’, is surprisingly out of form and out of context. He offers a Horror-Comedy which is a tiresome slog that makes you wish you’d stayed home and watched paint dry instead.
Thamma is a vampire that doesn’t bite—it just sucks, (again pun unintended), literally. This is one franchise instalment that deserves to be staked through the heart and buried in that ‘no man or woman’s land’, where it belongs.
