‘Beautiful’ (Malayalam)
Director: VK Prakash
Cast: Jayasurya, Anoop Menon, Meghna Raj
It is the return of brilliance and teamwork to Mollywood and this movie will definitely strike a chord with anyone who at many points in life has succumbed to basic human feelings like love, lust, fear, anguish of loss and the magical realm of friendship. And, the director has nailed it right with the help of eye-catching frames, elegant treatment and good performances by the actors.
Beautiful!
Director V K Prakash is not a novice to experiments. Be it ‘Punaradhivasam’- his maiden venture which was rated good by many arthouse cinema admirers – or ‘Moonnamathoral’ - the first digital film in Malyalalam - or ‘Gulmaal’ - which was fully shot using HD cameras- VKP always try to bring in something new to his ventures. Some of his past movies, though were appreciated for its technical brilliance, was a failure at the box office. But this time, he got a good script to conceive and the director has triumphed in crafting a poem in the celluloid.
Beautiful!
The story revolves around a multi-millionaire Stephen (Jayasurya), who is down with paraplegia and destined to live his entire life on a wheelchair. But still, he keeps a smile on his face and enjoys every moment in his own ways. He finds a good acquaintance in singer John (Anup Menon) who is later revealed as his schoolmate.
John’s soothing voice and songs keep Stephen live all the time and at this point enters a new home nurse, Anjaly (Meghna). The entire plot is well-knitted and each character has some depth, be it that of Praveena, who appears only in a single scene. There is a touch of quality.
Beautiful!
Cut to the script now – a carefully woven one by Anup Menon. With some good one-liners and without any dramatic tone, the dialogues sound good. It has some cleverly written moments in it. For instance, to define the meaninglessness of beauty, Kamlu (Nandu) is not giving any great explanations, but simply asks Stephen and John to think what will happen if the girl is affected with stomach issues. Some dialogues in the movie like “Marriage is nothing but a license for an extra-marital affair” may even amuse some. But there is a discipline and hidden brilliance in the script.
Beautiful!
Now the technical wizardry of the film. Ratheesh Vegha’s BGM track is perfectly in sync with the total mood of the film and among the songs, “Mazhaneer Thullikal” tops the list. Mahesh Narayan’s editing without any gimmicks makes the narration silken smooth. But, the man who stands tall among the technicians is Jomon K John who captured beautiful and sexy frames, and his colour combination, especially the shots during the rain, have a touch of class.
Beautiful!
The film also belongs to its lead actors, Jayasurya, Anup Menon and Meghna. It is a joy to watch the chemistry between Jayasurya and Anup Menon. Both portray their characters convincingly, and never miss a beat. And Meghna’s heart-warming looks, sex appeal, watery eyes and sensuality combined with acting skills have helped her in portraying the character brilliantly.
Beautiful!
Overall, the movie underlines the fact that Malayalam cinema has to break the mould if it aims to grab eyes. It is not an extraordinary movie, but is Beautiful!