Shakesphere M A Malayalam – Review
We usually go to the movies to laugh, cry and get entertained. Reinforcing this faith in movies, without any pretensions is the new film 'Shakesphere M A Malayalam', from the debutante duo Shaiju-Shaji. Count among the high points of the movie – the whole team of comedians from Malayalam coming together in tandem, a refreshingly engaging plot lines that induce continuous laughs, good technical support, background scores and winsome dialogues. Yes, this is a film with no larger than life heroes, no loud villains or no punchlines…what you can see here is only a feel good comic escapade, presented with the needed spirits.
"The entire world is a stage and all the men and women merely players" -The plotlines of the movie follows Pavithran who follows this Shakespearean quote in its fullest. He is the award winning play wright of Jayabharathi theatres, who writes on people around him and about those he knows personally. This habit of representing real-life characters on stage earned him the nickname 'Shakespeare Pavithran.'
As Pavithran is combating a creative block, with little time to spare for setting up their drama for the new season, Kottayan Gopalan, the lead actor ,director and owner of Jayabharathi theatres convinces Pavithran go to a remote village of Kakkathuruthu. He is accompanied by a group of actors like Sugunan (Salim Kumar), and Sarasan (Anoopchandran), who are dying to take the stage by a storm and to support Pavithran to battle over his temporary slump in writing. While Pavithran waits for days without any promising themes, he comes across Alli, a young country girl, loaded with her share of grave problems. Pavithran impressed by Alli, as a gullible character who can be interestingly transformed to stage, began to scribble on her the new drama – 'Prakasham Parathunna Penkutty'. He starts to ponder over her woes and difficult situations and guides her as if he write the growing sequences of his characters on stage. But what Pavithran is heading to, is the most unexpected piece of drama that his life has never ever witnessed.
The movie has a refreshingly different plot by Rajesh K Raman, scripted by the director duo Shaiju -Shaji with support from Jiju Ashok. The movie does have clichéd characters and the typical masalas associated with Mollywood packaging. But the intrinsic humour in the writing and the immensely likeable characters wins over us, especially in the first half. The later half is a little drag, but don't takes off the liveliness of the movie, even though the intended surprise in the climax is not so promising.
With a revolting, sugary sense of comedy, the movie appears disjointed at times, also due to intense pace in the proceedings. Like the rags – turn – riches sequences in the later half, which happens in a matter of few days. But as a comedy film it is above par, with a mixed bag of hilarity, leaving us hooked up almost through the entire proceedings.
Jayasuriya is once again at the familiar territory easing through the light hearted narratives. Roma also dons a different role as Alli with spontaneity. It is also heartening to see Kalabahavan Mani, back to a humorous role after a couple of years. But 'Shakesphere M A Malayalam' really banks on the host of real stars of the movie – the comedy artists with their impeccable timing, be it in the incredible Jagathy Sreekumar as Thoothukudy Thulaseedas to the obligatory Suraj venjaramoodu as junior ONV and Salim Kumar in a hilarious role of an actor longing for animated embraces from his female leads. Anoop Chandran as Sarasan, a School of Drama product excited by the riddles of every encounters in life, is one of the best roles that he has ever essayed.
Jibu Jacob supports the promising debut of the directors with good visuals, while Mohan Sithara's songs may not be chart toppers, but effortlessly merge with the situations. A deserving mention must also be made of 'Kannan, who praiseworthy works on the background scores has supported the director duo immensely, to aim rightly on the funny bone..
In the final analysis, however, with a few wrong turns in an otherwise entertaining film, the movie is sure to bring a positively enjoyable smile to your face. Surely appealing to the regular audiences, this unpretentious movie is an adequate time pass for an unfussy viewer.