Rain like life has many facets. Sometimes the drizzling of pleasant emotions tickle us but at times unpleasant emotional downpour drowns us as well. The fact is, in life, the tantalising effect, either good or bad, may not last forever.
Mammootty starrer ‘Varsham’, directed by Ranjith Sankar narrates the story of Venu, a private moneylender, and his perpetual struggle to hold the umbrella of life straight amid the incessant downpour of misfortunes.
Venu’s family comprises his wife Nandini (Asha Sarath) and son Anand (Prajwal Prasad). Like many parents in Kerala, blinded by mounting societal pressure, the couple wants their son Anand to pursue medicine. But in a sudden turn of events, Anand dies, leaving the couple fraught with grief.
In order to overcome the emotional imbalance, Venu finds solitude and solace in charity. But his efforts to provide money to the needy at low interestrates irk other moneylenders, who rake in huge profits by charging exorbitantinterest rates. The conflict between Venu and other businessmen, mainly Manavaalan Peter (T G Ravi) forms the rest of the plot. ‘Varsham’ is a full length family drama. It is no potboiler and hence will not satiate the cravings of those looking for one. Instead, it banks on intense emotional moments. Mammootty as Venu is the USP of the movie.
He effortlessly essays his role. Thechange in mannerisms and apperance, mainly after the death of his son, iscommendable and in most certainity will leave one teary-eyed.
The scene where he asks for a cigarette soon after the doctor declares the death of Anand may linger in one’s mind even after leaving the cinema hall.Though at times the movie stoops into the genre of a soap, Asha Sarath gives an emotional backing to the entire film.
However, there are jarringly repetitive scenes which could have been spared with tight editing. Mamta Mohandas as Dr Jayasree and Hareesh Peradi as Venu’s elder brother, too live upto the expectations. But the majority of the performances of supporting actors were over shadowed by the towering acting of Mammootty.
Without any twists and turns, ‘Varsham’ clearly adopts the linear way of story telling. Ranjith Sankar has matured as a writer and director with ‘Varsham’. But the topic of contemporary importance-’the exploitation of blade mafia’, which forms the pith of the movie, fails to make any discernable mark. There are high-intense scenes in the movie that will drape one in a layer of heart-rending sorrow. Music by Bijibal and cinematography by Manoj Pillai sync with the overall mood of the film. The versatile performance of Mammootty is the highlight of the movie.