Over the last few years, North Malabar villages have emerged as one of Malayalam cinema's most preferred destinations, particularly when attempting comedies. It's probably because of the innate humour in the dialect and the unsophisticated lives there. In Nadhikalil Sundari Yamuna (NSY), the story is set in Kadambery, a quaint hamlet in Kannur. Now, you can't make a film set in Kannur and not show the region's politics. In fact, here, the two parties—names altered, but we know who they're referring to—are integral to the plot and have a say in the lives of the lead characters, Kannan (Dhyan Sreenivasan) and Vidhyadharan (Aju Varghese). Since the makers play it safe, let's also denote the two political groups with their colours. While Kannan represents the red group, Vidhya is part of the saffron clan.
Minutes into the film, it is established that the parties are caught in a longstanding dispute over the right to conduct a local temple festival. Kannan and Vidhya, who are both seeking brides, unfortunately, get tangled in this clash as the two groups challenge each other on who gets married first. It results in a series of fun moments as the two factions actively engage in finding brides. But the fun doesn't last long and becomes monotonous after a point.
Dhyan, with his excellent comic timing, does his part even though the character doesn't offer much scope. His performance evokes memories of his hilarious act as Lalu in Kunjiramayanam. Though not as dimwitted as Lalu, Kannan also comes across as an imbecile who hardly does anything on his own. Forget finding a partner, he needs his mother or sister to get him a glass of water or towel. The Kunjiramayanam memories also flash hard because of the whole who-gets-married-first angle. However, the characters in NSY aren't as quirky and singular as in Basil Joseph's world. Though supporting actors like Nirmal Palazhi, Navas Vallikkunnu and Aneesh Gopal conjure up some laughs, the situations are neither unique nor consistently comical.
Aju Varghese, who was positioned as one of the leads in the film, tries to bring some freshness to his portrayal by employing a different body language. After the initial sidelining, his character does get some redemption towards the end. However, it is quite strange that his gang, or the saffron clan, conveniently go missing in some of the film's most crucial moments. Among the cast, one of the most impressive was Android Kunjappan-fame Bhanumathi Payyanur, who plays Dhyan's mother. An absolute natural, it's wonderful how she improvises her lines and comes up with some minute expressions during her hilarious exchanges with Pragya Nagra.
Apart from these occasional laughs, NSY is also aided by some lovely songs composed by Arun Muraleedharan. It has been a long since a small-scale rural film without any A-listers in the cast has had such beautiful songs that are in sync with the narrative.
In their debut outing, writer-director duo Vijesh Panathur and Unni Vellora, don't have a lot of freshness to offer, but if the objective was to follow the formulaic approach and deliver a decent entertainer, well, they seem to have got it right.
Cast: Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese, Nirmal Palazhi, Pragya Nagra
Director: Vijesh Panathur and Unni Vellora
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
(This story appeared originally on Cinema Express)