Saturday, September 18, 2021

Kaanekkaane review: "Myriad of emotions that keeps us engaged!!!"

Ever since uncertainty has set in over the opening of the theatres due to the COVID crisis, the film industry were left with no choices but to resort to the OTT platform to display their product to the world. Though it does not resolve many of the problems, it still ensured that the industry stayed afloat & more importantly, it reached more eyeballs. The latest release to climb aboard the OTT bandwagon is Manu Asokan's "Kaanekkaane" which was premiered on SonyLIV, the first Malayalam flick to do so. With an impressive movie like "Uyare" as his debut venture, the expectations on Manu were understandably high. So does he manage to live up to that??? 

More than a year had passed since Paul Mathai (Suraj Venjaramood), Deputy Tahsildar in Pala had lost his daughter, Sherin (Shruti Ramachandran) to an accident. However, life had stood still for him since then even as his son in law, Allen (Tovino Thomas) moved on & got married to Sneha (Aishwarya Lekshmi), who accepted Sherin's son Kuttu (Master Alok Krishna) as her own. Both of them maintained a warm yet strained relationship with Paul, who still pursued the case that led to the death of her daughter. Will Paul ever be able to come to terms with his loss???

When "Uyare" released in 2019, it heralded the entry of a new talent in the industry in the form of Manu & with his latest venture he has proved that he was not just a flash in the pan. Once again he has joined hands with the talented Bobby-Sanjay duo & the trio has yet again crafted a praise worthy celluloid creation. The movie delves into the plethora of emotions of the human mind that makes one to take decisions at the spur of the moment which could changes lives forever. The characterization of each of the three main artists are well defined be it that of the relentless pursuit of justice of the grieving father who is mellow yet steely, he inner demons the son in law constantly faces to the extent (that the audience empathizes yet acknowledges) that it was virtually wrecking his existence before his eyes & the second wife who isnt always about being brushed with a grey shade is both vulnerable and human & sincerely makes all efforts to make her relationship work. If at all there was one aspect that might not work with quite a few will be the overwhelming emotional baggage in the latter half which kinda makes the movie feel a bit jarring & lengthier

On the technical side, Ranjin Raj's BGM was top notch while Alby Antony's visuals that focused on mellow colours complimented the mood. Whenever Suraj takes on a character role that has depth to it, then we can rest assured that he will ace it & as Paul he has proved it yet again. It was a brilliant performance that is likely to garner accolades & he was complimented in his efforts by both Tovino & Aishwarya. The former has steadily improved upon his acting skills over the past two years & he has done a fine job as Allen, since it was a role that we would like to hate yet empathize at the same time. As for the latter, she has also done utmost justice to her role. The rest of the cast such as Alok, Sruthi, Prem Prakash, Rony David did their parts aptly.

Verdict: It is not an entertainer or a feel good movie in the actual sense, but it gives us a glimpse into the various shades of human emotions that determines one's existence.  In terms of the genre, it can be termed as an emotional drama thriller that keeps us engaged with the investigative track in the first half & the emotional tension subsequently. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

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