Naga Chaitanya's Thank You is a flawed tale of self discovery

The need to attain success, to claim it completely and greedily is something that drives many individuals today. It can be pushing for more social media followers, attaining clout within one’s area of expertise, or even amass wealth in order to gain power. In the Telugu film Thank You, Naga Chaitanya plays the role of Abhiram, a self-centered and narcissistic man who believes that his success is a product of his hard work only. He changes from a young man with burgeoning dreams to a successful, arrogant man with no qualms about abandoning the very people who contributed heavily to his success.

To be honest, the film deserves applause for digging deeper into a man’s psyche and how this affects his romantic relationship. It is not just about meet-cutes and female lead’s heart turning into puddle with affection for the male lead. Thank You depicts the heartbreaking distance that crops up between an otherwise loving couple and addresses the reason why the female partner is under duress after discovering that she is pregnant. We meet and understand Abhiram through her perspective.

Things one might label as red flags on hindsight are the very characteristics that Priya found attractive in Abhiram. His silence about his past, his family or even friends from India paints him as a mysterious figure. This trait in addition to his passion towards the app that Abhiram wanted to develop brought the two closer. She helps him with the initial investment, with finding the right developers among other things. Their love is initially deep but soon enough, Abhiram’s arrogance, his selfish behaviour and his indifference within their relationship causes Priya to decide against continuing her relationship.

The very act of exploring a romantic relationship from the perspective of the woman, and the many reasons why she found her partner toxic is refreshing. However, despite the interesting twist in the tale, the film fails to go beyond interesting because of its weak screenplay and mediocre performances. Heartbreak is more melodramatic than real, and portrayal of anxiety-induced panic attack needed more maturity. The film sets a boundary that audiences have no way of crossing. The fact that what is unravelling on screen is nothing beyond fiction is repeatedly established, and it hinders the storytelling.

By choosing to portray Abhiram’s conscience as a character unto itself, the film attempts to set itself apart. The trigger may be Abhiram’s girlfriend but the changes in him are brought upon by his own conscience and the efforts that he put in, into rediscovering his life and where he went off. It could really have worked if not for the oversimplification of trauma and grief. Abhiram’s mother works hard to provide him a satisfactory upbringing after the death of his father, and yet, her loss is brushed aside.

In a nostalgic trip down memory lane that is about giving Abhiram closure to his trauma, the film self-sabotages by not paying attention to how the trauma influences Abhiram’s life. Be it when his first love gave up on their relationship for his good, or when his life had been in danger due to a rivalry with a college mate. How it changed Abhiram is never explored. There is also nothing to indicate what brought upon the sudden change in Abhiram after setting up his business. When did he change from a team player to a selfish CEO who fired his most talented employees over a ego clash?

One of the important things while portraying the depths of a human psyche is to pay attention to details. The whys must be answered for the character to be relatable even if they are incorrigible. So, for the audiences to empathise with Abhiram, the answer to many whys is important. For instance, Abhiram had believed that his first love had abandoned if because he was penniless. While the truth of the matter was that she had sacrificed to ensure that he would succeed in life. It is upon the appearance of his conscience that Abhiram remembers the role this young girl — Malavika Nair as Paaru — played.

He is initially forced to look back at his life. He is challenged by conscience to confirm that his succeed is indeed only his to own and flaunt. Upon revisiting his relationships in the past, he first changes his mind about Paaru, and again, the most important why is never answered. Why did he decide that Paaru indeed had his best interest at heart after all these years? Such life-changing affirmations without refinement and distinction is what really pulls the overall experience of the film down. As refreshing as the perspective is, the flaws override it all.

What would have made this a spectacular story is to see the depths of Abhiram’s emotions without the theatrics? An honest examination of Abhiram’s mental health and sensitive portrayal of his trauma and the route to closure is the missing ingredient in this magic potion.

Priyanka Sundar is a film journalist who covers films and series of different languages with special focus on identity and gender politics.

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