We are into 2026 but this opinion piece (another one will follow soon) is about Akhil Sathyan's Christmas release "Sarvam Maya". I presume each & every one of you had a good break, since I certainly did; after all there is no substitute for quality time with our family. Anyway apart from catching up with friends and wolfing the goodies, I had checked out some of the movies that had released over the past few weeks. Anyway, based on box office reports, seems like Nivin finally had much to cheer about his latest flick.
After being away from the screen for quite a while, the audience got to see Nivin in two avatars in the span of a couple of weeks. The first one was in P R Arun's series, "Pharma" in Jio Hotstar, where he did a fine job as the medical rep who turns whistle blower. In his second outing, he appeared in the role of Prabhendu, an aspiring guitarist who was born into a traditional Brahmin family that were much sought after for performing rituals and prayers. With his career not quite taking flight, he decided to head back home for a short break and assists his cousin, Rupesh (Aju Varghese) who made a living doing rituals. One of them happened to be an exorcism ritual & that's when a spirit (Riya Shibu) befriends him, who is as clueless about her state as him.
This is Akhil's second directorial venture after "Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum" which he has penned as well. Unlike the usual Malayalam horror flicks, there are no scary moments & that in itself made it for an interesting watch. In terms of the script itself, there is nothing out of the ordinary but the manner in which the screenplay is drafted with a reliable cast to shoulder it made it an endearing viewing experience. The humour is present right throughout making us to have a smile on our face for many sequences while at the same time, the conflict brought in at the end felt forced. All the technical aspects were neatly done be it Justin Prabhakaran's soulful tracks, Sharan Velayudhan's visuals & the production design team.
However, the main highlight is undoubtedly the performances led by Nivin who finally found himself in a role that is in his comfort zone. His ease with humour & the ability to evoke a pleasant sensation in the audience whenever he ventures down this track was evident yet again. Riya was excellent as the bindass spirit & the manner in which she exudes a positive vibe with her general demeanour benefited the movie immensely. It's been quite a while since we had the Aju-Nivin combo and as always, it lived upto expectations with their off-screen camaraderie shining through on-screen as well. The rest of the cast such as Janardhanan, Reghunath Paleri etc., did their partly aptly.
Verdict: Akhil weaved the type of grounded feel good magic that is associated with an Anthikkad movie, which was whole heartedly accepted by the audience. The USP is undoubtedly Nivin and the earnest performance put in by Riya with the credible support of Aju, all of which proved to be the recipe for success. So do check it out!!!
Rating: 3/5
Regards...Ben
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