Film: Utopiayile Rajavu
Direction: Kamal
Cast: Mammootty, Jewel Mary, S P Sreekumar, Sunil Sukhada and Joy Mathew
The number of Malayalam films which fade into oblivion in the wink of an eye could well be reduced if the filmmakers watch their movie at least once after finishing it. Then they should think whether it is to be released or not. The number of directors and writers who risk their own reputation has increased in the Mollywood, of late. As a result, sub-standard movies are churned out.
Imagine Tini Tom as Jesus Christ with Fort Kochi slang, a graphic crow with the voice of actor Salimkumar, a speaking donkey and statues doing the story-telling through out the movie -- and all these done in an inept way, then you are welcome to the movie Utopiayile Rajavu.
The story begins with the statues of Jesus Christ (Tini Tom) and a dead Gandhian
(Joy Mathew) start talking. The movie revolves around the imaginary village Kokkrankara. C P Swathanthran (Mammootty) is the son of the Gandhian. His paternal cousin Soman Thampi (Sunil Sukhadha) snatches the ancestral properties after the death of the father. Swathanthran mostly follows his friend Pindani’s (Sreekumar) silly ideas and runs into trouble. He is also desperately longing for the attention of a local activist named Umadevi (Jewel Mary), with the hope that she will fall in love with him one day. Things take a different turn when he decides to place a statue of his father in Kokkrankara.
When Mammootty teams up with Kamal after a gap of nine years (their last offering was Karutha Pakshikal in 2006) expectations run high. It again increases with the participation of P S Rafeeque, who scripted Amen two years ago. Rafeeque dons the cap of lyricist as well.
As the film progresses, we get the feeling that Kings do fail. The unfolding of the entire plot shows that the thread of Magic Realism was developed with the mere sensibility of a TV soap writer. Unimaginative direction plays its part to make things worse. The character of Mammootty offers nothing. Ache Din (good days) for Mammootty is yet to come!
An emotionless Jewel Mary underlines that only TV screen suits her. Cliched and untimely jokes will give you the impression that the makers of the film are deliberately challenging your patience. The tile song, Uppinu Pona.... sung by Jassie Gift, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi and Rahul R Nath gives a good opening. At best, Utopiayile Rajavu can be termed ‘an essay on the current affairs’ with a Magic Realistic touch. Attempting to metamorphose it into a movie falls flat in every regard. It is hard to believe that the Mollywood will ever absolve the makers. Buying a ticket to ‘Utopia’ means you hate yourself. If you live in Utopia, you may like this movie. Unfortunately, we live in this humble piece of land, Kerala.