Neram review: "Not a judicious use of time as it entertains only in patches!!!"

Nowadays, one of the most popular means of generating interest in a movie is to post a catchy song on youtube & expect it to go viral. This is exactly what Alphone Putharen did with his debut venture "Neram", as the song "Pistah" inspired by Jagathy's nonsensical lyrics from "Kinnaram" took over the social network by storm. What remains to be seen is whether there is more to the film other than the song???

Mathew (Nivin Pauly) is an IT professional who has been running from pillar to pillar in search of a job, only to be turned back citing lack of experience. In order to escape the brunt of the financial crisis, he is forced to take up loan from the cut throat money lender Vatti Raja (Simhaa). But with time, he struggles to repay the loan putting him at the mercy of the goon. To add to his misery, his affair with Jeena (Nazriya Nazim) irks her father Johnny Kutty (Lalu Alex) who goes to the extent of filing a complaint against him at the police station. Now he has to escape from the clutches of Vatti Raja & pacify Johnny Kutty as well. Will the good times ever return???

Alphonse Puthren is well known for his music video "Nenjodu Cherthu" which featured the same lead pair of Nivin & Nazriya. For his debut venture,he has chosen the genre of black comedy which however wasnt able to pack a punch as he would have liked. The major flaw of the film is that there is hardly anything of substance or thrilling in the first half but there is no denying that the latter half did make amends to a credible degree. In addition to the latter half, the film had a few other bright spots such as the chemistry between the lead pairs, "Pistah", the catchy pencil sketched finish posters & the sly dialogues muttered time & again. As far as the performances goes, the lead pairs & the supporting cast especially Shammi Thilakan has done a decent job.

Verdict: Thanks to "Pistah", the film should attract a decent crowd. However, black comedy which is kinda experimental in our industry & to add to that, the lack of vibe in the first half will be the major drawback for the film. In short, check it out on TV & that too the latter half!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben