Drishyam

My review: Drishyam

Following his super-hit thriller "Memories" Jeethu Joseph comes with his next movie "Drishyam", Starring Mohanlal and Meena in the lead. Defying genre, movie cuts across family drama and suspense thriller mode. Unlike usual thrillers which follow whodunnit or crime mystery mould, in "Drishyam" Jeethu focuses more on the aftermath of a crime and the psychology of the families involved on the either side. Also the interesting cat and mouse game played out with intelligence flowing on both the sides make it an engrossing watch. 

First half flows like a warm mountain stream effortlessly. Warmth, tenderness, day to day humour and family values gets detailed without much tedium in the first half. Also along the way many trivial details gets sprinkled that helps putting the pieces together in the later half. Hence though the pace is laid back the script keeps you in its leash throughout. By the intermission point the movie gets into a more serious mode with a jolt that happens just before the half way point. 

Second half is a roller-coaster ride that keeps the adrenaline pumping with the twists and turns and the surprises that get revealed all along. The success of the writing is seen the manner in which the viewers' mind get jolted every time police tries to close in on the suspects. Here almost everyone wishes that the suspects somehow manage to escape from the net thrown at them. The strength of the writer in Jeethu Joseph is in the forefront. 

Mohanlal has underplayed but the effect that it has on the viewers in humongous. It is unimaginable anyone else could have made George Kutty so endearing and at the same time getting the viewers root for him so effortlessly in the end. Credit is due to both the writer as well to the actor for making a middle-class rural family man a mass hero without any commercial trappings. Meena brings in all the experience she has garnered all these years to full use. She lives every inch the role of a naive housewife.

 Ansiba Hassan and Esther, who play the kids in the household are fantastic. They have integral parts to play in the narrative. They have enacted their roles with aplomb without losing the childishness that we often see in mainstream cinema. Kalabhavan Shajon is equally good as Sahadevan, a role with grey shades. Asha Sarath and Siddique does their parts admirably. The whole support cast have done their parts to perfection. 

Anil Johnson's background score keep up with the thrills in the second half while leave a pleasant taste in the first part. His score adds strength to the narrative succeeding in keeping the viewers engrossed. Sujith Vaassudev has captured the movie with as much simplicity required to the script as possible. Instead of taking recourse to undue gimmickry in the pursuit of showing all his wares, he has absorbed the mood of the content and captured it accordingly. Movie is technically suited to the narrative.

On the whole, "Drishyam" though released in the fag end of the year would easily be anointed  the best movie of the year by a fair margin. 

Bottomline:A fresh engrossing narrative. 

4/5