Malayalam, 2021, 8.7/10 IMDB, Sony Liv, Directed by Manu Ashokan
A drama turned thriller, catches more than just your attention, for its distinct premise and plot. The screenplay and the overlapping narrative pattern glues you to the screen. Before you even realize, the characters are etching your heart, leaving you with this novel warmth and longing for more such films that weave across genres.
The Malayalam industry’s proven prototype- simple story, uncomplicated making, paired with some commendable performances- leaves you in awe for the thought process behind these ‘story-telling’ formats. The film walks you through the point of view of the father who is grieving the death of one of his married daughters, in an accident. The gloomy start sets the mood of the viewers and when there is foul play sensed, you are reminded of Director Vasanth’s 1995 Tamil movie Aasai involving the murder of a wife with wilful intentions. But the makers make you guilty for having thought on those lines, for the story has a soul of its own, as it unravels in segments, each character’s perspective- the Father’s, the Husband’s and the other woman’s, who is now the wife.
Suraj Venjaramoodu is full of surprises. His adaptability to the characters that he picks is beyond belief. The binaries of the father character that he plays for the ‘now and the then’ versions, the past and the present of his, that keeps intertwining, as the screenplay demands these overlapping- are beautifully executed by him with effortless lucidity. So does Tovino Thomas who plays the husband, whose intentions are questioned by his dead wife’s father, his guilt translates aptly onscreen.
Human emotions are captured in its intensity without much melodrama, making the film a content watch. ‘To err is human and to forgive is divine’, yes. When the error is indirectly costing a life, due to the delayed response on contemplating how to react- how do you forgive that person? The incident repeats twice in the film to both the characters, but the inner goodness in each of the human, is seen trickling down at the right time and prompts a personal evaluation on the viewer’s mind.
I was left to recollect instances in my personal life where I ended forgiving people, if not on account of such big crimes as the ones that we see in the film, but relatively similar impactful ones, as in any normal person’s life. While the father character was left to contemplate on doing the right thing, my mind kind of paraphrased the whole context- If at all I find myself as the one who is forced to forgive, would my scars and its aches overpower me and curtail me from being the kind of the forgiving human that is expected of ME? The answer was a ‘MAYBE’ but eventually a NO. On the other hand, if the situation had reversed and God forbid, if I am the one who had erred- won’t I be longing that the person whom I have huge respect and love for, to be as forgiving as I would be towards HIM? And the answer was an instant big YES.
In many instances when I am the one who is forgiving, MY inner mind had never failed to prompt to ‘forgive the erring human’, even if not at that very instance, but sometime later and urge me to be that person whom I keep trying to evolve all through my adult life.
The sadistic guilt-tripping is never going to let you be in peace as much as you don’t let the other person to be peaceful. The other side of this forgiving scenario is crucial as well- the person on the receiving side of the forgiveness should reciprocate your forgiveness by climbing down the high horse and succumb to the fact that he or she had erred. Only then your act of forgiving derives a meaning. This reciprocation is the sole possible solution to put an end to living in the past, to cherish the present moment and to walk towards a future that would leave behind happy memories. This understanding comes with fair number of years that teach rational thinking by putting oneself in the erring human’s shoes. I could relate to this personal transformation of mine with the two characters onscreen. That was the huge success of the movie I thought.
The two women, Shruthi Ramachandran and Aishwarya Lekshmi rock in their roles but, Aishwarya scores with the repentance and her attempts to set right the wrongs. The makers approach the sensibilities with such care and not in one instance you find yourself disrelishing the delicate subject. But at the same time, the erring instinct, does question the trust worthiness of Tovino’s character, but when he reciprocates with true love in the ‘now and the then’ sequences, the makers convince you of the realism in the plot.
A MUST watch.