2022, Malayalam, 8.9/10 IMDB, Directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan
A visual chronicle, from the hearts of the makers to the viewers. The common denominator being, the ever-abiding enticement and the most exploited word – ‘Love’. A restorative nexus that either reminisces personal experiences or familiar sequences of iconic movies across industries.
A fresher’s life in a city of dreams and a title ‘Hridhayam’ ought to be backed with an intense admiration that begin as an infatuation and travels rough paths. The pair’s passion is either short-lived or they end as life partners. This premise offers endless permutations that can be explored for another century at the least.
The makers of Hridhyam opts to keep the characterizations real and the emotions natural. Meticulous detailing of the sequences seems the priority of the team as there seems to be no rush. The psychological process of two persons trying to relate to each other’s attraction is always intriguing and the characters Arun and Dharshana, played by Pranav Mohanlal and Dharshana Rajendran, emote it beautifully in the backdrop that is set a decade and half ago.
When the relationship fizzles out early, on untruthful grounds of a moment of weakness which, Arun duly regrets, the proprietorial behaviour pushes them to hurt, annoy and offend each other. Their competitive spitefulness that urges them to manoeuvre into untruthful relationships, is a well-choreographed sequence of the typical juvenile characteristics. The scenes that Arun becomes physically dependent on substances through unorthodox company and it taking a toll on his studies were shot extensively as a set up to be paid off when a lower middle-income classmate, pulls Arun out as a saviour from his unpleasant lifestyle.
The Director surprises you with his prowess to the mundane sequences. The ‘not so true love’ of Arun for his junior Maya, gets a beautiful closure when Maya asks Arun on the day her father died, if Arun’s love for her was true. The insecurity in a girl who had just lost her dad is what the director is betting on, while constructing such an intense scene, over a loss. The dialogues and instances might be familiar but the treatment and the right placement is pristine.
The maker’s trying to imbibe the distinctive quality of Chennai City – its multiculturalism, the housing board livelihood, the thirst for water, the self-motivated studious study circles, makes the premise more legitimate. The sub plots mightily influence the screenplay in substantiating its hero transformation template.
Dharshana’s character is etched carefully with complex emotions, that reminds of Jessy’s from ‘Vinnai Thandhi Varuvaya’. While movies of the past mockingly illustrate ‘letting go’ as an easy biological phenomena of women folk, Director Vineeth chooses to make Dharshan a person who keeps dwelling, whether her choice of ‘letting go off Arun’ over a small tiff was a mistake.
The maker’s attempts to establish that ‘To hold on to’ is a human instinct and it fulfills a need for certainty from Dharshana’s perspective. Letting go becomes even harder when you know that you had misjudged a person and the other person is conveniently moving in to space where he needs nothing more than friendship with truce. Dharshana Rajendran emotes the character’s traits perfectly in the scene where she bids farewell at the railway station after college. It sure does reminds ‘Neethane Ponvasantham’ in many instances but Hridhyam is unwavering and stays loyal to its story telling.
The later part of the film travels to a space where Arun meets Nithya played by the brilliant Kalyani, and they decide to get married. The fundamental dispositions and characteristics of humans, determine their ways of thinking, feeling and acting. This fantastic contrasting of the two women characters on how each handles relationships, is done cleverly and reflects how each woman looks life at.
While Dharshana is uncertain on getting married to a newly met friend whom she trusts, Nithya even after knowing Arun’s serious past relationship, handles it more maturely and practically, even if she had to ignore the evident hidden feelings of Dharshana for her husband .
Through careful crafting and analytical music sensibilities, the director, seems to have a flair in finding the right harmony for his visual sequences, that comprehensively represent his creativity.