Movie Review – Uyare

What could have been bad was tad better

Uyare deals with a subject which filmmakers now are keenly interested in, which by itself is questionable. Because the bigger question is whether its right to make a movie out of a sufferer. What is it trying to achieve. Is there going to be any solution or it’s taken to let know to the world about happenings against victims. Using a story of an ‘acid attack’ victim just for shock value like how certain people die in Atlee’s film is the biggest sin that you can do in a cinematic medium.

Few months back ‘Chhapaak’ got released and there was Deepika with that make up in a public transport to capture audience reaction. Seriously? That was the cheapest publicity stunt ever done. Amir Khan shaving off people’s head or even balls is different to that of what Deepika did. If they can’t feel what the victim would go through seeing those promos, what really is the need to do such a thing. Deepika could have come in a no make up look for promo along with Laxmi Agarwal rather than being Deepika, the cine star. That would have given her some credibility and Laxmi some respite from the onlookers. By Deepika I’m not saying its just her fault but the entire crew behind it. There was an excellent article by Rangan on it. Wish I could articulate as good as him.

Coming to Uyare, the makers have really tried to make a good storyline about an ambitious girl. But the conjunctions don’t really work in spite of an excellent Parvathy. The first act of the film with a kid wanting to fly and she becoming the elder Pallavi (Parvathy Thiruvothu) was well made. Pallavi makes a heroinic entry with a kuthu number, incurring immediate hatred by her boyfriend Govind (Asif Ali). Like us, everyone in the film too hates Govind but when we come to know why Pallavi still holds on to him, he gets some soft corner and that’s followed by superb scene where we see him crying while dropping off Pallavi. In fact the whole character of Govind is superbly written.

Anyone who had not known the film to be that of an acid attack survivor wouldn’t have thought what’s going to happen next. It’s in fact, both the success of the film as well as why I didn’t like the film too. Of course, the film revolves around that one incident but the way it was magnified and made audience look for it was sadistic. In reality, wish such incidents never happen so that another movie with this theme doesn’t come up.

Pallavi tries to hold up and rise to the challenge. She gets helped by Vishal Rajashekaran (Tovino Thomas). It’s like a friend character who’ll be there in any boxing film. An all do gooder. His character doesn’t have much impact and looks plasticky. In fact, all the other actors and the incident look plasticky too. The major question which comes up is why an acid attack survivor should be a superwoman. Not everyone would get a chance to fly a flight. Why couldn’t be just another person who has highs and lows and still exist relatively happy in the world. If the film had been made in such an angle it’d have been more inspirational than taking an inspirational story.

Parvathy puts her heart and soul in the film but I prefer her in roles where she’s a next-door girl rather than being the one. She was terrific in ‘Virus’ than in ‘Charlie’. One silent performer of the film is the person whom everyone of us hate, Asif Ali. Every single scene of him is a gem. A man with no guilt. Guess even Korean psycho films couldn’t write such a character. Look how he walks off post the acid scene, the way he writes the letter and even the blink and miss scene in the climax where he runs off as soon as the plane lands. Only because he was so excellent, we were able to root to Pallavi’s character even more.

The film tried to be practical but was only romanticized in the end. Wish the makers understand the difference and try to heed to it. Ideally let there be no such incident in future to be made into a movie.