Entrepreneur Abhiram (Naga Chaitanya) is at the pinnacle of success, but has no one to celebrate it with. His extremely competitive, self-centred and arrogant nature, a byproduct of his success, has taken a toll on his personal life. So he must seek redemption and salvage his relationship with Priya (Raashii Khanna). This is the story of Thank You, which stars actors Naga Chaitanya, Raashii Khanna, Malavika Nair, Avika Gor, Prakash Raj, Easwari Rao and others. The film is directed by Vikram Kumar of Manam fame.
Thank You follows the journey of a ruthless Abhiram, who has no value for his friends, well-wishers or colleagues. He is quick to term any acquaintance who comes to him for help as ‘parasites’. It is only his own excellence that counts, and he is certain that he owes nothing to anybody as they have made no contribution towards his success. In the meantime, however, he is trying to find meaning to his success with his girlfriend Priya, who has played an important part in his growth.
Abhiram’s passion and commitment to found a startup and succeed impresses Priya. The two soon begin a relationship and go on to live together, but he does not share much about his personal life or traumatic past with her, which eventually creates trouble in their relationship.
Abhiram has a long scar on his arm, which metaphorically doubles as an unhealed scar from the past. Instead of merely reflecting on his terrible behaviour, however, his conscience takes him on a journey down the memory lane that shaped his attitude. This journey becomes literal after a while, when he tries to heal completely by revisiting the people whom he had shunned from his life. The newly reformed Abhiram realises that the people from his childhood and college days — both good and the bad — have contributed to his success, intentionally or not. So now, he is on a mission to thank them (hence the film’s title).
One tragic event that drives Abhiram to success is the abrupt end of his relationship with his teenage girlfriend Parvathi (Malavika Nair), which happens after he misunderstands that her concern to become something big is because of his poor economic condition. This flashback portion in particular is reminiscent of Ravi Teja’s Naa Autograph (a Tamil remake of Autograph). However, when pitted against the S Gopala Reddy directorial, Thank You fails majorly, as it is not grounded in reality and there is nothing organic about it.
Besides, though we are told that Priya is an important part of Abhiram’s life, we are not shown any meaningful scenes between the two to help us root for them. Instead, the film is in a hurry to delve into the male lead’s troubled past. The secondary characters, except in the flashback portion, also have no roles or scenes to give a meaningful conclusion to Abhiram’s penance.
Thank You could have been a better film, had the writing been more strong and not so superficial. But as a visual art, the film excels. For instance, the weather is perpetually cold — just like Abhiram’s nature — as the relationship between him and Priya is on the verge of collapse. The colour tone used in these scenes are also blue, reflecting the sombre mood. Cinematographer PC Sreeram has done his best to salvage the film from its mediocrity.
Music Director S Thaman’s decision to use background scores from old films has worked brilliantly during the flashback portions, as it evokes a sense of nostalgia.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.