Hmm...yet another Tovino movie, this guy seems to be on a signing spree as "Luca" is his fifth release of the year. But kudos to him for choosing movies that is different as it has endeared to the audience which is reflected from the fact that all of them have been box office successes. His latest movie is the debut venture of Arun Bose, the trailer of which looked both visually awesome as well as haunting. Tovino's appearance kinda reminded me of Dulquer in "Charlie" & it would be interesting to know if he has struck gold yet again???
The film unfolds with Inspector Akbar Hussein (Nithin George) being called upon to investigate the death of a prominent individual. As part of his investigation, he happens to get his hands on a diary which spoke about the romance of Luca (Tovino Thomas) & Niharika (Ahaana Krishna). Luca was a prominent name in the art world as he was a popular scrap artist as well as social activist & he gets acquainted with Niharika in the Biennale. With time, they confide in each other about their insecurities & vulnerabilities and realise that they are indeed ideal partners for each other. So why was this diary in that place & was it indeed a clue to the mystery???
A couple of days back, I watched a talk show of the cast & crew of the movie as part of their promotions in which Arun Bose had mentioned that he had approached Tovino with the thread of the film in 2014. He had subsequently worked on it multiple times & it eventually became a celluloid creation last Friday. He had written the script along with Mridul George & they have adopted a non linear pattern with three tracks. These include the death mystery, Luca-Niharika & Akbar and his wife who are headed for divorce. Apart from Luca's track, the other two just didnt have the substance that would keep us engrossed. On the technical side, the art department has done a fantastic job with the props that they had created. Nimish Ravi's visuals were mesmerising & Sooraj Kurup's music gelled with it perfectly.
Tovino was once again apt as the protagonist who is short tempered, necrophobic yet positive & empathetic. He continues to impress with each passing movie as he is steadily getting better & proving to be a bankable artist. It's been quite a while since Ahaana had appeared in a movie with the last one being "Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela". She has done a good job here & her chemistry with Tovino was pretty good. Nithin George wasnt quite upto the mark while Vinitha Koshy was wasted in an insignificant role. As for the rest of the cast, they were average at best.
Verdict: There is no doubt that the lead pair has done justice to their roles but as a whole, it's unlikely to impress the audience. All the technical aspects with a special mention of the art team has done a brilliant job. In short, it might not be palatable to everyone!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
