Not to the perfect size?
This movie was one of my long hauled overdue and somehow escaped my radar all this while. Considered to be the finest of Fahadh Faasil and start of a new era by Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran. Unfortunately as I had watched and blown away by ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’, as a non malayalee who doesn’t understand the meaning of the words, even by the rhyme of it, ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’ was a little underwhelming. I guess both of it together would work as a dual feature, not like that or Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, but something like that of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’. The feeling was similar to how it felt after watching ‘Mr. Smith goes to Washington’ after being blown away by ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
The initial vibe of the film was terrific, the elongation of the word “pennu” and the sudden halt while saying “Idukki” in the titular song would give smiles to anyone settling in theatre. It’d have given a proper settling of rustling leaves vibes when you had seen people enter the theatre and you’re already in your dreamland. I thought it was going to be one happy film seeing that song sequence but it was entirely not so.
Mahesh (Fahadh Faasil) is a normal guy, in writer Sujatha’s words, a satharanan, one who has lived his life in peace in a small town, known by his friends and hated by none. He’s neither skillful nor terrible. He lives his life as if he’s not even in the frame. He loves a girl who too has affection on him but it doesn’t materialize for obvious reasons, the reason not explained in the movie but it felt like an eventual. This breakup felt harsher and realistic than Fahadh Faasil’s highly acclaimed but terribly boring ‘Annayum Rasoolum’. He doesn’t grimace in pain, may be part of him too knew that it was not going to happen. There isn’t any bitching, thankfully. Furthermore, post her marriage we don’t see her suffer. There were mild cues in the movie where the groom was shown as a possessive man, but thankfully being a positive non melodramatic movie we don’t see her suffering even though a part of us who sympathize with Mahesh would want that.
Due a sequence of events, a Butterfly Effect may be, we see Mahesh getting into a fight and getting beaten up and he swears that he wouldn’t wear a chappal until he avenges his man. While we think that the movie was going to get into a serious tone, the man who beat him up goes to Dubai. It was a terrific interval. It’d have been great if the movie had just ended there. The second half felt obvious. A girl who’s a sister of that man, Mahesh avenging him and asking for the girl, felt a little bit preposterous. The punch that he had expected while the directors name flashes on screen actually happens during the interval block.
As much as one would want to appreciate Fahadh Faasil, not just him but everyone could be appreciated in the same vein. There wasn’t a single badly acted scene in the whole movie. Everyone did their role to perfection. Even Mahesh’s Kung Fu colleague who beats up the auto driver. The climax fight gets us on the hook but isn’t it a film which is greater than this to have our emotions ridden in such a straight forward scene.
There was a part where Mahesh’s dad asks him not to call his studio as shop. There was a slight “coming of age” touch there but it wasn’t overdone and didn’t drift the film in some other direction. But it’s something which could’ve even be taken off and the film would have still worked fine and his character would have felt earthier. For some reason I was constantly getting ‘C/o Kancharapalem’ vibes which made me feel that this film as a less great one among the two.
As I said before, this movie would have worked better if I had seen it first and seen it with less disturbance. It’s not a movie for pause and play, in fact no movie is. But as it plays around with the feelings and emotions more than the story, a strong settling time would be appreciated.
constantscribbles 