Ayaalum Njanum Thammil – Movie Review

The recent trends in Malayalam Cinema is really encouraging not only for cinema lovers but also for those who aspire to present their stories in their varied style. Ayaalum Njanum Thammil, from hereon ANT is no exception here, it genuinely offers a fresh narrative which looks very edgy yet very rooted which makes this film a unique experience altogether.

ANT does have some good resemblance to Hindi movie Lakshya and Malayalam movie Ustad Hotel, but treatment wise and the emotional level built makes ANT stand out firmly from the rest. The movie is about the profession which is known for it’s nobility towards mankind, Medical Profession. The movie provides ample food for thought whether in today’s context this profession holds the nobility, the caring mentality towards the wounded suffering ones. The movie talks in a non linear mode, shuffling scenes here and there which I felt worked for me, as the script is not a edge of a seat kinda, which might have made Lal Jose (the director) to experiment with the timeline.

One thing to mention for sure is the camera work by Jomon, the camera has been experimented so beautifully that it always tries to grab our attention. Camera behind glass objects is tried very efficiently, like when the protagonist had to leave his lover’s home beaten, he looks up from the car’s rear window towards his lover standing helplessly, weeping. This shot is really worth mentioning among many others, giving a new perspective indeed. To add on top of that, the locations chosen for this subject is really worth highlighting.

The other aspect which I really admired was the way the transitions made between timelines, it felt like the frames are getting out of focus, waving nature, giving a moist illusion, worked very well for me. The screenplay by Bobby Sanjay is above par, it had some amazing scenes written between characters. The romance between Dr. Ravi Tharakan (played by PrithviRaj) and Dr. Sainu (Samvrutha Sunil) looked superficially underdeveloped but the scenes where in PrithviRaj’s character gets in two minds whether to wait and support the patients in the hospital or to reach Kochi to be with his beloved to register their marriage. This scene might have been the realization point for Dr. Ravi Tharakan of a shift in priority which was visually presented very well. The other scene which remarkably stands out is when Dr. Samuel (Pratap Pothen) forgives PrithviRaj’s character for not treating a child just to seek personal revenge, a poignant scene of this film.

Performance wise I would say this is PrithviRaj’s one of the best matured character in recent times. The character grows on many shades of emotions be it mischief, or anger, or depression, or guilt, or compassion, or arrogance. Pratap Pothen being a natural actor delivers his part Dr. Samuel very well. Though I personally felt that Nedumudi Venu would been more apt for this role. Kalabhavan Mani excels if given a good character for I believe he is a great character artist. I hope this film gives many more such characters like the one he had in ANT rather eyeing meaty out of age protagonist roles. Narien, Samvrudha, Rima, Remya made their presence felt. There was no need of including Salil Kumar’s character just to evoke humor, felt completely out of place.

The only major let down would be the overall music. It felt that Ouseppachan was underplayed or the conscious decision of including music came at a very later stage while making the movie. As most of Lal Jose’s creation has a strong balance of some really good music, this one would be a let down.

Lal Jose and team can be definitely proud of ANT. It really requires the sensibilities of a matured filmmaker when the film boils down to the end reels. ANT sets an example again that Malayalam Cinema has some good HOPE alive.

Review by :- Suraj P Nair