Film Review:

Banner: Aashirwad Cinemas
Cast: Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine, Suganya, Asokhan,
Vijayaraghavan, Mohini, Muthumani, Kripa, Mamukoya,
Baby Nivedhitha
Direction: Sathyan Anthikkad
Production: Antony Perumbavoor
Music: Ilayaraja - Gireesh Puthencherry

‘Innathe Chintha Vishayam’ is a film with a serious subject and worth a watch. Especially if you are interested in the likes of tearjerker soaps dealing with marital discords. ‘Old wine in a new bottle' may not be the apt adage to describe the film. The plot is not daringly unconventional but it’s packaged refreshingly with multiple dozes of strained relations.

Nine out of ten television soaps have marital discord as its plot. Nine out of ten television soaps have women as their privileged viewers. And this film, meeting the both elements, belongs to that genre. Sathyan is using the tried and tested formula to create movie- soap made for the fair sex, who gives the best support to all his endeavors in the box office. This is one of the films that were made keeping in mind of its strict target audience and marketing strategies. And so it may never fail to bring in applause, at least from some corners.

In fact, the movie superficially sums up many a jilted plight of individuals when they are desperately trying to pick up the pieces after an unequal relationship, where partners are separated on silly issues but is still in need. Trying to dwell on the present scenario and comment on the societal mores of today, the movie finds it hard to effectively convey a precise message about 'understanding' in the place of 'adjustments'.

The movie opens with the voice over of the director who presents three different couples in the verge of disseverance. Dr .Murali Krishanan (Mukesh), the most successful dentist in the city is more interested in having female associations, more than often. He hides them from his wife Teresa (Sukanya), even by assigning male names for them in his mobile. One fine day he is in a tight corner with his wife raiding his mobile contacts, and for evading the conflicts associated, he walks out of her life even leaving his daughter Lakshmi.

The second family, Pithambaran (Vijayaraghavan) and his wife Premila (Mohini) with their lovely children Malavika and Madhavan are leading a good life. But due to increased possessiveness for his wife, Pithambaran returns home from gulf throwing away his good job, and starts escorting his wife all along. He even develops inferiority complex which further complicates things for Premila, ultimately resulting in continuous fights and separation.

And in the third family, Rehna (Muthumani) is not able to continue with her lawyer profession due to the orthodox attitude of her husband and his family. She too walks out of his life, and starts working independently

Into the lives of these three ladies who starts living separately arrives, G K alias Gopakumar, a garment exporter. He has bought the house where Teresa is staying away from her husband Muralikrishnan. Now left in a difficult situation which does not allow G K, to throw out Teresa and her daughter, to establish his office, Gopakumar is trying newer ways to get the couple together. And in the process he meets the other similar ladies who happen to be friends of Teresa. The film follows how G K with his fashion designer Kamala and land Broker Immanuel, succeeds in getting the feuding couples back to lives of reunion.

Mohanlal as G K don't have anything exceptional and is repeating the Good Samaritan act for the umpteenth time, but still it is a pleasure watching him in a role that seldom goes larger than life. There may seem to be some exaggeration in the portrayal of the idealist Gopakumar, but Lal is effortless in presenting the character convincing, with least obvious loopholes. The director who is also credited with writing the script integrates many topical issues in the story, but this time he is consciously making them the centre of our attention in every now and then sequences. The idealistic lines goes up to the level of preaching in the later half, which partially destroys the charm of narratives.

And then there is Meera Jasmine as Kamala with a precious little to do. She says her lines, flutters those eyelashes and looks ravishing. Her repeat act of ‘Rasathanthram’ and ‘Vinodhayathra’ as a girl with a sad past are not inspiring as the original. In terms of chemistry, none of the couples from Mukesh, - Sukanya, Vijayaraghavan - Mohini and Ashokam - Muthmani share any vibes. But all have taken care to do a competent job to display them with no visible warmth.

At times, you do feel the film, almost two and a half hours long, is bit stretched and that it loses pace in the second half after a rollicking first part. In fact is one of those films, that aren’t as much about the happy finale, as it is about the insightful journey about relationships, which is at times, hilarious. And definitely the director falters in getting it around for a more logical climax, which seems forced and infantile with every weak male counterparts mercifully turning up to realize what they have been in their life -chauvinists, freaks and psychos.

Azhakappan has once again excelled behind the camera, with his limited resources capturing the mood of the movie. Ilayaraja gives a couple of hummable tunes that seems to be the recycled versions of his earlier hits in Malayalam. Sai Babu in the costumes and Santhosh Raman in art department had definitely added colors to the proceedings.

Despite its many minuses, ‘Innathe Chintha Vishayam’ is still endurable on account of the subtle smiles that it generates and the running time of just 145 minutes. It is not a bad film to watch at least once, especially because it tries to discuss one of the grave issues that our society faces, and reiterates some of the eroded values and ideals that is presented without too much glorification.