Trivandrum Lodge

My review : Trivandrum Lodge

Team “Beautiful” is back with another successful venture “Trivandrum Lodge”. Written by Anoop Menon & directed by V.K.Prakash movie stars Jayasurya rounding off the successful trio. Movie is bold in its subject matter, narrative style & dialogues. Supported by good performance of the star cast, splendid cinematography & good supportive background score “Trivandrum Lodge” is an instant hit with the movie goers.

“Trivandrum Lodge” is a place inhabited by a dozen souls each having different yearnings in life. Yearnings differ from physical intimacy, movie career and recognition to freedom of singlehood. They include aspiring actors, mimicry artists, movie journalist, retired government servant, music teacher, cook & a recluse who gets joined by recently divorced writer.

Movie’s main subject matter is three love stories across three generations & an infatuation. First one is a puppy love between son of the owner of the lodge & his classmate. It seems a bit farfetched in few instances but by & large presented age appropriately. Second one is a mature love between the owner of the lodge & his childhood sweetheart. It is an unconditional love wherein the love triumphs over death of one in the dyad. Third is a broken love story at late stage of life between the Music teacher & the cook in the lodge. And the last one is the infatuation almost everyone in the lodge has on the writer who comes in to stay with them.

As the narrative flows it not only traces the lives of these motley group of people but also how each of them get transformed in their perspective about love & lust. Not only that there is transformation in their personality as well that happens very subtly. In the end movie ends with extolling the triumph of love over lust. And the presentation is light.

Dialogues are the main draw of this movie. One can love it or hate it but can’t be apathetic towards it. It may raise a few eyebrows but that is how people converse in real life. Not only the bolder ones there are a few insightful dialogues too for the purists. Frank conversation in colloquial lingo is what that makes them special.

All the actors have done their parts well. Jayasurya as a recluse Abdu impresses with his restrained act. Honey Rose looks radiant & acts her part like a seasoned performer with high degree of confidence. Anoop Menon is cool , Bhavana is good in a neat cameo , P.Balachandran has numerous applause worthy dialogues ,Saiju Kurup is confident,  Janardhan & Sukumari does their parts with assurance of the veterans. Child actors Dhananjay & Nayanthara act appropriately to their age.

Pradeep Nair’s cinematography adds sheen to the movie. He has done a tremendous job in showing the Old Fort Cochin & Mattenchery lustrously. Even the lighting inside the lodge reflects the mood of the scenes.

Art direction deserves mention. The interiors as well the exteriors of the lodge are done with elan.

Jayachandran’s songs are melodious while background score by Bijibal is supportive of the narrative. There are many places where the background score has added value to the scenes in the movie.

Anoop Menon needs to be lauded for yet another fresh script & forthright dialogues. V.K.Prakash has done a neat job of directing a good script.

On the whole, “Triavandrum Lodge” assures fun-filled & a reflective stay.

Bottomline: pleasantly inhabitable

3.5/5