Balyakalasakhi
Adapted from Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s Epic Novel movie says about the love story between Majeed (Mammootty) and Suhra (Esha Talwar) and the struggles and truths which they faces in their life.
Its a committed and excellent performance from Mammootty. He is brilliant as the vulnerable father and the struggling son. While he shines as the father in the first half, pulls it out superbly as the son in the later half.His performance while finding that he has lost his leg, is one of those rare moments which we use to see from a master like him nowadays. Isha gets only few screen space, and she is fine as Suhra. Meena as the mother is good. There are few additional casts, and they all gives a commanding work. A thumbs up for the kids who have done their part convincingly.
Though the story of the movie is based on romance there are many sub-plots like the riots in Kolkata pre-Independence, Suhra and Majeed’s struggling family etc. The screenplay is engaging, and many episodes are well written and conceived. Pramod Payyannur’s direction is impressive where he effectively carries a non-linear narration and its great too see a debutant like him not missing even the minute details in the overall settings of a period movie.
First of all the songs and background music need a special mention as they elevates many scenes with an extra feel. It helps to the varied mood of the movie in different situations. Cinematography by Hari Nair is another asset where he captures the Malabar and Kolkata’s nature without any artificiality. Editing is crisp and prevents from any big flaws. Art work is also done brilliantly, and it shows the money’s spent on it. But few heroic fights scenes in a movie like this could have been avoided.
First half of the movie is flawless and it is engaging throughout. The director succeeded in carrying the movie post interval too with things now getting more intense. But seems like there are some irrelevant cuts in second half as the certified length is about 120 minutes and the movie finishing around just 105 minutes thus limiting the overall cinematic experience.
