Biju Menon and Asif Ali probably have the most bankable chemistry, even when they are at each other's throats. Thalavan works to a large extent, even with a messy second half, thanks to this duo.
Karthik (Asif Ali) joins as the SI at Chepannamthotta station, where CI Jayasankar (Biju Menon) is the SHO. They are both hot headed and get off on the wrong foot, and seem to be working at cross purposes throughout. The situation turns even more tense when Jayasankar is implicated in the murder of a goonda's wife and Karthik is put in charge of the investigation. The story and how the case is solved is narrated in flashback by DySP Udayan (Dileesh Pothen), who initially headed the tricky investigation.
The first half of the film, directed and co-scripted by Jis Joy, along with Sharath Perumbavoor and Anand Thevarkad, is straightforward and takes a total hold of you, with a couple of interesting red herrings. In the second half, however, the investigation takes a different turn and gets confusing with new suspects and situations added to the ones from the first half. Also, the climax seems to get overly dramatic and the flow gets a bit bumpy.
Despite keeping the typical cop demeanour, both the lead actors have amazing screen presence and are well-supported by side characters, be it Dileesh or the other cops, and even Miya and Anusree in smaller roles.
Jis Joy, who is veering away from his earlier lighthearted genre like Sunday Holiday and Vijay Superum Pournamiyum, has made a fairly engaging investigative thriller, but missed the opportunity to craft a super one.
