Thalavattam (1986) User Reviews

Malayalam adaptation of "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"

[sachineldho · 8/10 · 19 August 2017]

Copycat Priyadarshan's one of the good movies. The theme and even some of the scenes are copied from 1976 film "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" where the role of lunatic was depicted by Jack Nicholson which won 5 Oscars including Best Actor award for Nicholson. Priyadarshan couldn't make this movie near level of original. But Mohanlal did his role best and that is the only good thing about the movie. One of Mohanlal's best performances.I wonder why can't people just make movies without making photostat and remakes.

One of Mohanlal best performances

[yoshielavumkal · 8/10 · 13 April 2001]

One of Mohanlal best performances as an actor. Those films made him to a superstar in India, especially in Kerala. This film by Pryadarshan shows that Mohanlal is a very talented actor. The film is a proof that he can put comedy and seriousness in one character. In this movie Mohanlal plays a mad person who is taken to a mental institution. There he gets to know a young doctor, played by Karthika, who does know why he becomes mad. Thus she feels sympathy for him and a little romance has started. But her father (Soomen) who is the medical superintendent of the institution is against that, because her marriage with Hari (Mukesh) is planed. One day Vinod becomes like a normal ordinary person, but Savrithia's father has a dirty plan... A must to see for every Mohanlal fan.

Great movie!

[tintuvjoe · 9/10 · 5 April 2020]

Middle of the movie.. Sad to see how much a person have to go though to play some music.

I remember this song nowZ Nostalgia!! I remember this song but I didn't know it came from this movie.

I would say one of his best performance for sure.

thought it was silly when saviithri at end becomes mental hearing what happened to vinod, That took it out of the realism though. If that was the case Dr. Unni should've been mental since he's the closest one there and also he had killed Vinod that out of love. Yes that scene I teared up. 😭

With that said I am giving this 9 out of 10. Also because it's not an original, the director priyadarshan also copied few scenes out of the original Hollywood movie starring jack Nicholson. But lal did an awesome job as acting.

I was trying to figure out how did Anitha die ? Was she electric shocked while she's playing the guitar ? Or was it a seizures? That scene wasn't clear, I rewinded back also the movie didn't mention how exactly she died.

Mohanlal 💯

[sreelesh-69328 · 10/10 · 27 August 2020]

Film is fun dram film directed by priyadarshan. Good to watch. Story is happening in mental hospital and the film is traveling through hero's past.the film is block bluster in kerala

Excellent movie

[arun_mr · 3 January 2018]

The film is based on the American novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

One more Priyadarshan Magic. Mohanlal's Vinod is a treatment in Mental hospital. Vinod is in love with his daughter's daughter, Dr. Doctor diagnoses the disease forever. Childhood friend Doktor murders Vinod. With Vinod's death, the doctor is also a madman. Another sweetheart is the last one to laugh in the end

Jagathy's comedy with all the cinema makes us laugh and cry

Nostalgic but Tragic Lalettan Classic

[thomastheartist · 8/10 · 3 January 2024]

I love this movie despite the sad ending. Lalettan as Vinod went through lots of pain in this movie and we can all empathize with him. Lalettan and Karthika are an adorable on screen couple. I love their on screen romance which is sadly oppesed by the cruel M. G. Soman. How could Soman as Dr Ravindran be extremely cruel to everyone, especially Lalettan? You know, there's one scene in which Ravindran says that he doesn't know how to love. Well, even he portrays a good side but I still don't like his demeanor. I first watched this movie when I was very little and still remember that today. The mental hospital Vinod is admitted to is more like a mental prison. My point is that even after he healed, Ravindran held him hostage simply because he and Savithri were in love. Cochin Haneefa as Antony is another monster in the hospital as he treats the patients like animals. Nedumudi Venu as Dr Unnikrishnan AKA Unni is the only nice doctor along with Karthika as Dr Savithri who was somewhat mean to Vinod in the beginning. You can truly empathize with Lalettan in this movie, Lissy as Anitha who was the girlfriend of Vinod in the movie died due to an electric short circuit accident a a concert. His loss took a toll on him and he was admitted to the mental hospital as a result. Out of all the hospital staff, Ravindran is the most cruel. Ravindran is a person you just wanna beat up. I like the scene where Vinod suffocates him as it's just what he deserved. Ravindran should be arrested and imprisoned for unlawfully putting Vinod in a coma. This movie is very emotional and made want to cry. Especially the ending as it was heart rending. This movie is still endearing despite the ear rending sounds and the heart rending scenes. Idk what to think about Unni killing Vinod but I know he did it for the greater good as death would be preferable over a vegatative life. In the end, Savithri is admitted to the mental hospital as a patient. Anyway, I miss the young Lalettan and wish that time traveling was real so I could travel back to the 1980s and 90s just to meet the younger version of him. Sadly, nobody can live forever let alone stay in their 20s and 30s but Lalettan will always be the Indian Cinema King and my favorite actor for years and generations to come.

Priyadarshan wants to be Milos Forman

[alappytv · 1/10 · 1 September 2014]

One must watch this movie, if he didn't watch "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" directed by Milos Forman. I think Priyadarshan worked hard to make a good Malayalam version of the movie & to include a romance part in between. What made the Malayalam version the best is Mohanlal's performance. But I feel very pity on the director who hardly tried to expose his own caliber and always tries to copy paste other languages classics. Everybody knows that he is a good director, but I think that he is a lazy guy. If someone takes a list of his copy paste movies, that number may be comparative to his number of hit movies. But he made Mohanlal to be the top actor and Mohanlal made him the top director.