Thala (2021 film)

Thala (transl. The Head) is a 2021 Indian independent children's film written and directed by Khais Millen.^[1] It was produced by Better Earth Entertainment in association with Mania Movie Magix International. The film stars Surabhi Lakshmi in the lead role.^[2]

THALA
Directed by	Khais Millen
Written by	Khais Millen
Produced by	Khais Millen Roshan Mahamood Soji Khais Nihal Abdulkhader
Starring	Surabhi Lakshmi Binoy Antony Shaalin Zoya Murugan Martin Jinu Kuttikkatt Sreevidya Mullachery Sneha Anu Akhil Roma S Lenin Aaromal Thirumurukan
Cinematography	Rajesh Rethnas
Edited by	Sarath Geetha Lal
Music by	Ankit Menon
Production companies	Better Earth Entertainments Mania Movie Magix International
Distributed by	Mania Reels
Running time	110 Minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Thala premiered at DIFF-Newyork and was shown at the NIFF-New Delhi, SIFF Sweden, and Pan African Film Festival Nigeria. At the 52nd Kerala State Film Awards, the film won Best Child Artist (female).^[3][4]

Premise

An abandoned human head (in Malayalam 'Thala' means 'head') is found by some slum kids.

Cast

The film is mostly a child actors production. Most of the cast is therefore composed of newcomers.^[5] The producers claim it introduced 333 new faces to the cinema industry, all of them originating from local slums.^{[citation needed]}

• Surabhi Lakshmi as Muthu
• Binoy Antony as Appu
• Shaalin Zoya as Manikutty
• Murugan Martin as Stalin
• Jinu Kuttikkatt as Kalaam
• Sreevidya Mullachery as Maala
• Sneha Anu as Mullu
• Akhil as Chakochi
• Arun Nayar as Ayyappan
• Roma S Lenin as Roma
• Roshan S Lenin as Roshan
• Aaromal Thirumurukan as Aaromal
• Harikrishnan Sanu as Ganesan
• Shah Muhammed as Sudheeran

Accolades

Year	Award/Festival	Category	Judging Status	Recipient	Ref
2022	52nd Kerala State Film Awards	Best Child Artist	Winner	Sneha Anu	[6][7]
	9th Noida International Film Festival	Best Film Editing	Winner	Sarath Geetha Lal	[8]
	Boden International Film Festival	Best Feature Film	Winner	Khais Millen	[9]

Music

Thala
Soundtrack album by Ankit Menon
Released	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
Recorded	2021–2022
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	11:57
Language	Malayalam
Label	Muzik247
External audio Thala (Official Audio Song) on YouTube
Singles from Thala
"Poonkodiye" Released: 17 February 2021 "Thala Pokki Pidiyeda Mone" Released: 15 May 2021 "Urunduveena" Released: 1 February 2022

The songs were composed by Ankit Menon, produced and arranged by Ankit Menon.

Thala

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Poonkodiye"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Ankit Menon	Sid Sriram	05:20
2.	"Thala Pokki Pidiyeda Mone"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Ankit Menon	Gana Bala	04:10
3.	"Urunduveena"	Khais Millen	Ankit Menon	Ranjin Raj	03:10