Film: Poomaram
Director: Abrid Shine
Cast: Kalidas Jayaram, Joju George
Rating: 3/5
Abrid Shine proved he could spin some realistic tales in his last venture Action Hero Biju with its undramatic yet engaging and entertaining content. He treads the same path again, only that in Poomaram, the action takes place in an art festival venue, where the youth is in full bloom. Here talents clash to win, taking with themmoments of a lifetime to cherish and reflect.
And, Poomaram is their celebration. Without much ado, drama or twists, Poomaram moves at its own pace, reliving those festival moments. And, for the same reason, this is a perfect nostalgia trigger too.
The Mahatma Gandhi University Youth Festival is all set to kick off and Maharaja's College and its rival St Teresa's are leaving no stones unturned to ensure victory. As festival begins and competitions start, both colleges vie for the crown.
Not that there is such a fierce competitive mood in Poomaram. Though we adore how both the
colleges bring out their best, the win here is rather inconsequential. What matters more in Poomaram is the moments of unadulterated joy, disappointments, camaraderie and above all the intense emotions attached to the little things like an infatuation.
And, these are brought to us aided by soulful poetry. Poomaram's beauty is in how poetry blends with the narrative, giving us the festival flavour.
WATCH SONG VIDEO HERE
Like I mentioned before Poomaram is very realistic that it doesn't establish heroes or heroines. It
belongs to all. There is a dance teacher pepping up his student, a makeup woman's complaint about not being paid enough, a tea vendor expressing her adoration for Meera Jasmine's hair-do, Poomaram is their movie too. It makes us chuckle too, like the part where the jury is waylaid by a disappointed
contestant and her team members and how relationships sprout.
But, Poomaram is flawed in parts too. Its unduly realistic nature fails to excite many times. For those who aren't familiar with the terrain, the whole movie can be nothing more than a live streaming of a college art festival.
That said, Poomaram gets better as it progresses. It has an unexciting start, with many sequences and dialogues coming off as unnatural. That's so ironic, considering how realistic the movie intents to be. Gautham's (Kalidas Jayaram) conversations with his father are packed with too much information, that it seems the very idea of the scene was to teach us a lesson or two about poetry and art. While some speeches come off well, a few others are too dramatic and unsuitable for the situation.
As for Kalidas Jayaram, who makes his much-awaited debut in Malayalam, the character doesn't give him much space to perform. He is the college union chairman who is everywhere and his 'acting' scenes are very few. Poomaram isn't a please-all movie. It is rich in art, aesthetics and realism, but low in entertainment.