Thursday, July 9, 2020

Sufiyum Sujatayum review: "Script fails to realize its full roohi!!!"

With quite a few movies from the other film industries having already released on the OTT platform due to the COVID crisis, it was just a matter of time before the Malayalam industry also joined the bandwagon. So last weekend, we had Friday House Productions release “Sufiyum Sujatayum” on Amazon Prime to the delight of the movie aficionados. I was particularly keen to watch it as my buddy; Gopesh was also part of the team as an assistant director. The trailer had a mystic aura about it with soulful music that would endear to anyone. So was the movie as captivating???


The film unfolds in a rustic village where Sufi (Dev Mohan) returns after a decade to visit his Ustaad’s (Swamy Shoonya) tomb. However, he dies soon after & the news is conveyed to Rajeev (Jayasurya). Incidentally, Rajeev was in an unhappy relationship as his wife,  Sujata (Aditi Rao Hydari) wasn’t still able to detach herself from the memories of her pre-marital affair with Sufi. In the hope that the mortal remains of Sufi would bring a sense of closure for her, Rajeev decides to take Sujata to the funeral.

This is the second venture of Naranipuzha Shanavas, who garnered considerable critical acclaim for his directorial debut in “Kari”. Apart from calling the shots, he has penned the script as well which I felt was rather underwhelming. His choice of artists for the titular role made sense with Dev Mohan & Aditi, matching their parts. But their love story which is the main foundation on which this movie is built upon is on shaky ground as the depth of their relationship isn’t explored which would have thrown light as to why Sujata couldn’t move on in life with Rajeev. Shanavas nailed it when it came to imparting a mystical feel to the Sufi, but he fails to add substance to the character. The last half an hour is gripping and provides a distinct closure to the tale. On the technical side, it is really impressive especially the music by M. Jayachandran. His soulful tracks be it ‘Vathikal Vellaripravu’ (sung by Nitya Mammen , Arjun Krishna etc), ‘Alhamdullilah’ (by Amrita Suresh & Sudeep Palaad) and the brilliant ‘Azaan’ rendered by Zia-ul-Haq  (best I have ever heard), just  elevates the overall experience. Anu Moothedath has done a fine job with the cinematography while one cant the say about Deepu Joseph when it comes to editing as it lags at numerous sequences.

Though packaged as a Jayasurya movie for obvious reasons, he had more of a supporting role with limited screen space. However, he was impressive as the irritated and helpless husband who tries to salvage his marriage. Aditi Rao is making a return back to Malayalam after she made her debut in Prajapathi in 2006. She has done her part reasonably well as she suited the role in terms of appearance & dance, though she failed to convey the sorrowful emotions adequately. The same also applies to the debutant Dev Mohan but I would put the blame for that on an underwritten role rather than the lack of his abilities. As for the rest, Siddique and Manikandan Pattambi deserve praise for a job well done.

Verdict: It was certainly a movie that showed a lot of potential, but falters primarily because of a half baked script. Shanavas gives glimpses at various instances where the story could have been impactful as the chemistry between the lead pairs were palpable, though it fizzles out without going the distance. Even then it is still worth a watch primarily coz of its endearing sound tracks, mystic aura & the manner in which it ends!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards…Ben

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