Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Nagara Varidhi Naduvil Njan review: "Socially relevant theme gets hampered by a lackadaisical screenplay!!!"

About 24 hours left before we enter into the New Year & along with it lies the hope that it would turn out to be a wonderful year for each one of us in all aspects be it career, family life etc. The Malayalam film industry would also be praying for a much better year as flops galored at will. Incidentally this X'mas season has been one of the most disappointing in recent years for movie lovers as films were far & few and none of them captivated the audience also. Even Sreenivasan's latest failed to impress, hmm... well you must be wondering why???


Venu (Sreenivasan) was a Gulf expatriate who struggles to make his ends meet & takes up the job of a security at an upscale residential area. For Venu & his wife, Sunitha (Sangeetha); their daughter was the apple of their eye who relentlessly toiled hard to crack the Medical entrance. Both of them feared for their daughter welfare in case she failed to achieve her dream & that's exactly what had happened. The only solution that Venu could possibly think of was to acquire a management seat by selling off his minuscule plot which he had purchased about a decade back. Much to his dismay, he finds that it has turned into a dumping yard for the residents in that locality. He knew that he cant strike a reasonable deal for that stinky pit, but how could he clear that mess???

Yet another debutant director as entered into the industry in the form of Shibu Balan who had also penned the script as well. There is no doubt that he has chosen a socially relevant theme & with a maestro like Sreenivasan weaving the screenplay, it's bound to be a recipe for success. Unfortunately, the truth was far from that as the main thread gets virtually lost in the potpourri of irrelevant sequences in the latter half. Sreenivasan's witty yet factual dialogues which has been the hallmark of many of his yester year hits failed to impart the desired effect at many situations. As for the technical aspects,none of them deserves a special mention be it the visuals, music etc.

Of late, Sreenivasan choice of films has been mediocre to say the least & even his performances has been less than impressive. More often than not, he gives me the impression that he struggles to emote in a natural manner. Sangeeta didnt have much to do & does no harm to her credentials. As for the rest of the cast, Lal, Manoj K Jayan, Innocent etc., they were average at best.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the combination of Sreenivasan & Sangeeta would have created hope among the masses that it would rekindle the magic of "Chintavishtayaya Shyamala". But this is a script which is far inferior to that & moreover it doesn't explore the dynamics between the duo. As for the movie, it would have been a much enjoyable fare if more attention was paid to the screenplay. In short, it sums up a rather bleak Xmas for movie lovers!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

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