'Cinema Company' (Malayalam)
Director: Mamas
Cast: Sanjeev, Basil, Badri, Shruthi, Baburaj
Cinema is a dream dear to hundreds of men and women whose world revolves around films. Written and directed by Mamas Chandran, ‘Cinema Company’, with its tag line ‘cinema, friendship and dreams’, tells the story of four such friends. Amid a plethora of movies exploring the celluloid theme, Cinema Company holds its own with a relatively fresh treatment.
Paru (Shruthi), Panicker (Sanjeev), Paulachan (Basil) and Fasal (Badri) meet at a film festival in Thiruvananthapuram and their bond is fostered by a common love for the movies, giving them the collective moniker ‘Cinema Company’. With a musician, an illustrator, a writer and an aspiring actor completing the quartet, the film charts their journey through the ups and downs that tinseltown throws their way.
The tale is told as seen through the eyes of Paul, the ‘director’. The youngsters are aware of the hard fact that making a mark in the world of the movies is not as easy as dreaming or criticising new films.
As they strive to give life to their dreams, their lives turn topsy-turvy, and the next few sequences grapple with the tough situations faced by the foursome in the not-so-glitzy real world of the movies, and the resultant acrimony between them. A lot of the “struggle and trouble” narration could have been similar to what some of the recent flicks on the subject have thrown up, but the director should be credited for avoiding the cliches to an extent.
It is a huge risk to cast nine newcomers in any movie, and this could be the biggest line-up of freshers in major roles in a Malayalam commercial film. But to their credit, the younsters have all rendered convincing performances. Apart from the lead quartet, Sanam as Deepika, Shibla as Fasna, Swasika as Reena Lakshmi as Roshni and Nithin deserve mention.
The film also attempts to deal with the ‘business’ of the movies, and takes on everyone, from the satellite rights wrangles to the local rowdies who show their might at shooting locations.
Baburaj meets expectations in his new avatar as an affable villain who helps the ‘cinema company’
Alphons Joseph’s background score suits the nouveau mood of the film, though the music is average. Jibu Jacob’s frames accentuate the narration, albeit Sreekumar Nair’s editing could have a little more crisp.
Mamas, who entered the fray with the typical potboiler ‘Paappi Appacha’, has indeed donned a different hat for ‘Cinema Company’, which deserves applause for being a daring commercial venture, with its heart in the right place.