After ghosts, werewolves and goblins, producer Maddock Films’ horror-comedy series turns its attention to vampires. Like the two Stree productions, Bhediya and Munjya, Thamma has mild scares, cheesy humour and lovey-dovey moments set to Sachin-Jigar’s tunes.

Alok, who claims to be a journalist, loses his way in a jungle that happens to be the lair of a coven of vampires. These ancient bloodsuckers have promised never to have anything to do with humans. They take their responsibilities seriously – they have imprisoned the wicked Yakshashan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who is fed up with animal juices and wants a bite of the real thing.

Alok (Ayushmann Khurrana) wins the unbeating heart of the vampiress Tadaka (Rashmika Mandanna). Perpetually petrified-looking but well turned-out for somebody who has been around for centuries, Tadaka proves especially useful when Alok too becomes like her.

Tadaka helps the meat-abjuring Alok handle his extra-long fangs, new dietary requirements and suspicious father (Paresh Rawal). The consequences of turning a vegetarian into a vampire soon catch up with the couple, as with the movie itself.

Written by Niren Bhatt, Suresh Mathew and Arun Fulara, Thamma is the weakest entry thus far in the “Maddock Horror Comedy Universe”. Shoehorning Varun Dhawan from Bhediya into the plot and throwing in cameos by Abhishek Banerjee (Stree) and Sathyaraj (Munjya) only underlines the inability of the latest movie to stand on its own feet.

Tonal inconsistency and slapdash pacing ensure that even some of the funnier lines of dialogue fall flat. There are too many scenes with Paresh Rawal’s hysterical father in them and then none at all when it’s time for the stand-off between Alok and Yakshashan.

The situation is too dull even for Nawazuddin Siddiqui, making a welcome comeback. Siddiqui’s furiously vamping vampire, who sounds like a Mumbai street ruffian, doesn’t have much to do in a film that itself is confused about where it wants to go next.

Although Ayushmann Khurrana is too long in the tooth to be playing a virginal lover boy, at least his comic timing is intact. Varun Dhawan’s Bhediya act is further proof that of all the characters in this horror-comedy series, the werewolf needs to be banished to the wilderness.

The various elements clash rather than harmonise, unlike in the year’s superior vampire film Lokah Chapter One: Chandra. Unlike Lokah, which deftly meshed escapist entertainment with political commentary, Thamma is bite-free and bloodless.

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