How often do you visit bakeries? I guess the answer for most of us would be 'rather frequently', as bakeries have always been an integral part of our food habits. I used to visit it pretty often especially during my school time on the way back from tuition to hog on the puffs, cutlet, lime juice etc. Even now when I am back in my hometown, Kollam; Supreme Bakers still remains to be one of my favourite places. Incidentally, "Sajan Bakery Since 1962" is the title of Arun Chandu's directorial debut & it was interesting to know as to what kind of a dish did Arun prepare for the audience.
Sajan Bakery is one of the oldest bakeries in Ranni which was managed by Betsy (Lena) & Bobin (Aju Varghese) along with their uncle, Cherian (Ganesh). Even as Betsy invested her heart & soul into their family business, Bobin lacked passion for it & was keen on migrating to Australia in search of better job opportunities & lifestyle. This was a constant thorn in their relationship & to make matters worse, Betsy was on the verge of divorce. Will the constant tussle between the brother & sister, mark the end of their relation and business???
If it wasn't for the COVID situation, this movie would have hit the screens close to a year back. Anywaz just like how a food item becomes stale with time, the same also seems to apply here except that in this case the reason was the lack of a credible storyline. The blame doesn't lie solely on Arun as he was assisted in the process by Aju & Sachin Chandran. The conflict between the brother-sister, efforts to patch up Betsy's rocky marriage or to keep their business afloat, none of the events manage to keep the audience hooked. If at all there was one aspect that really interested me, it was Merin's fourth wall breaking narration which brings a smile to our face. Unfortunately, it didn't bring any change to the overall mood of the film. All the technical aspects were average at best with Vineeth Sreenivasan's rendition of 'Thora Mazhayilum' being soothing to the ears.
Though the movie is essentially about the relation of a brother-sister, I didnt quite feel that vibe between Lena & Aju (obviously, the characters are in conflict but still you would expect some connection). Lena did her part aptly while Aju also did justice to both the avatars that he donned but the idea to cast Ganesh as their uncle deserves praise as it worked really well. However, the pick among the lot was Ranjita Menon who was both charming & lively.
Verdict: Apart from the title, there is nothing unique about the movie as it drags aimlessly for significant amount of time. Hopefully, "Sayanna Varthakal" will bring smiles on Arun as his present delicacy is unlike to whet the appetite of the audience. In short, wont hurt to give it a miss!!!
Rating: 1.5/5
Regards...Ben
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