It turned out into a Diwali with no friends to hang out with. I go to ‘Gold Souk’, one of the prominent shopping malls in Kochi. The loneliness gets worse when standing out in a crowd of young pretty girls and handsome guys. I walk onto the multiplex and finds out that the tickets for the Hindi and Tamil flicks have been sold out. The only tickets left are for ‘Indian Rupee’. Amusing is the average Malayalee’s change in priority and tastes.
Before entering into the robes of a critic, I would admit that my view might be a bit prejudiced thanks mainly to a masterpiece I was watching from Jean Luc Godard. The section of audience took up the movie with great enthusiasm and appreciation. Judging from the reaction even days after the openin we can safely say the movie is on its way to ring cash registers heavily.
From a personal viewpoint I expected the film to do a bit more technically and creatively. High expectations is a price geniuses have to live with. The movie falls a bit short of the mark taking into consideration that the director was Renjith.
The movie deals with a very relevant contemporary topic facing Kerala population- materialism. People of Kerala has been traditional business men. The onset of Arab Oil and US visas threw open the windows for bigger opportunities. A recent trend saw desperate attempt to park the black money somewhere. Hitherto unexplored, virgin real estate scene was the best place to do so. The after effect was the real estate business slipped out of common man’s hands for cold, greedy sharks. Our hero is a typical uneducated youth with all the trappings of a common hero. Unmarried sister, highly educated lover threatening to get married off and huge, rich dreams and shades of grey. The end of the story is he realizes he has a bit of ‘goodness’ in him and hence unsuited for real estate scene.
The movie also deals on the encroachment of materialism into the finer elements of our society. Relationships, values and education has been corrupted and convoluted. Thankfully Renjith stops short of taking a stand. Its left to the element inside you to judge.
I can help but comment and commend on touching the issue of huge amounts of cash floating in and around the society. The term ‘crore’ became a very common usage now. While we sing patriotism, we don’t mind dangling with black money.
There is powerful performances from everyone. Thilakan is back to his stellar self. Hope destiny provides him with good health and many worthwhile roles (latter difficult to get than the former). Prithvi might have done the best one of his career so far. Strangely I thought rest of the cast performed way beter than him.
The choice of Kozhikkode as the focal point is significant. Traditionally Kozhikkode Is known for good food, great people and culture. The real estate culture is eating into the very ethos of the ancient city. An eye opener for the ones who keep eyes open.
Still too many plots and issues have diluted the flow and focus of the film. Many high profile characters walk in and out. May be the narrative couldn’t hold them all. The pace is too slow in the first half and is not very catchy in second half either. Some of the sequences and even the climax goes unexplained. A few shots look forced.
Footnote: A must watch for the philosophical value. Keep your hopes a bit low on the way to ticket counter
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