Varsham (2014) User Reviews (3)

A Capturing Drama Coils Into A Ramrod Weepie. ♦ 64%

[nairtejas · 6/10 · 13 November 2014]

There is a peculiar essence about the start of the film which will remind you of last year's Christmas release, Jeethu Joseph's mega- hit, money-pumping plagiarizer "Drishyam." Over-happy parents living for their sole all-rounder son in a neighborhood filled with bigots and vultures, as they nag him to be on top of the world. I'm sure the makers envied Joseph's luck and thus, adopted his style. But, Varsham fails in comparison with Drishyam, as the story is not a thriller, but a weepy family drama directly out of an old, pious lady's motivational life diary.

Mammootty and Asha Sharath play possessive parents of a normal child. They all succumb to their exclusiveness in one way or another as the story narrates about Venu's (Mammootty) selfish, stingy attitude toward life. He has millions of money, yet calculates penny's worth of accounts, be it his son's school fees or his house-helper's urgent native travel. It reflects real life personalities who accumulate money in their cupboards, yet fail to relish the small things in life. 40 minutes into the film, a tragedy occurs and all hell breaks loose.

Aunties sitting around me started weeping uncontrollably as I tried to shift my glances from them to the screen. The hall was filled with sobs and sneezes. Mammootty and Sharath portray graciously and the latter seemed to be mixing her role of Drishyam with the homemaker one in here. Mammootty is glamorous as ever and manages to re-establish himself, along with Munarriyippu, after his early 2014 debacles. Mamata Mohandas is a courteous doctor and all sweet and plump after her second stint with the big C. Supporting cast is fine.

While I appreciate the writers for silver-lining the main theme of selfishness with elements like that of unscrupulous finance schemes in and around Kerala and the political hand it uses to flourish, I really didn't find any newness in what followed next. The second half is less weepy, but is more of a biographical inspiration: how one can expend his resources and turn into philanthropy after all's lost. Sounds like cliché!

Well, it definitely is. I lost interest further as the primary characters started fictionalizing themselves just to power up the story they tell. Director Ranjith Sankar knows his tactics as the back of his hand, yet he fears ingenuity. Screenplay and editing are both seamless and not much to talk about. The film loses traction because of one petty mistake in the statutory warning: they misspell the word "alcohol," which I would interpret as sheer carelessness from the editing department. A single notch high in efforts from the makers would've worked wonders.

BOTTOM LINE: A family drama which will definitely gobble you up. It has good performances and a fine narration, which will at least not bore you. If I had to compare this week's two releases, I'd go for Varsham over "Iyobinte Pusthakam."

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Mammootty shines in Varsham

[wickedDarkoo · 10/10 · 11 November 2014]

The film is definitely a family drama, but not an entertainer that puts you through a lot of twists or turns. It neither has soap opera moments nor vivid dance and music. Instead, the director takes you through heart-warming moments of emotions.

Venu (Mammootty) runs a small finance and gold loan company, which is called a blade bank in local parlance. The company is in the name of his teenage son Anand (Prajwal Prasad).

Venu is a self made man. He is a cocky businessman for whom the line between right and wrong is blurred. His wife Nandini (Asha Sarath) shares similar characteristics.

She wants her son to be good in everything that her neighbour's son does. The husband and wife keep fighting, but they have a common dream for their son: that he should become a doctor.

Venu in a way is blind to others around him other than his family. His only son is the apple of his eye and has huge expectations over him. The egoistic father in him expects only the best from his son.

But one incident changes his attitude towards life. The film then portrays Venu's struggle to come in terms with things around him and how he copes to move ahead in his life amidst his complex thoughts and composite society he lives in.

The director must be applauded for exploring the possibilities of human life and psyche. After a point of time, the film raises itself as a reflection of the society by an average Malayalee and his concerns of leading a life. The makers have made a conscious effort to convey the desired message and concept through some light-hearted dialogues and satirical situations.

As Ranjith said before, the USP of the movie is definitely the performance by the actors and the casting of the movie requires a special mention. Mammootty has carried the whole film on his shoulders with his impeccable perfection in acting. He makes sure that the character of Venu is given the right dose of emotions and histrionics to make him look convincible.

In terms of screen space, Asha Sarath has given tough competition to Mammootty. The actress again had made her character memorable and excels as an envious wife and mother. Parjwal, who plays the role of Anand, the couple's only son justifies his directors' choice.

TG Ravi reminds of the quote on vintage wines which turns stronger day by day. The veteran actor proves that there is more in him that is yet to be explored and tasted.

Harish Perady's screen presence in the role of Venu's elder brother is highly remarkable. Mamtha Mohandas too has justified her character.

Santhosh Kezhattoor and Irshad have made sure that they have a safe future in doing character roles. Sajitha Madathil, Sarayu, Sunil Sughatha, Sudheer Karaman and Govind Padmasoorya justify their roles with excellence.

The script of the film doesn't have great highs or lows, but is beautifully peppered with emotions that carry the feel of the movie till the end.

As the title "Varsham" suggests, the script has a feel of rain that can cleanse one's soul but the nature of the script is more like a poetical melancholy drizzle than a ravishing heavy thunderous rain.

The cinematography and editing of the film make sure that the momentum and the mood of the film is not lost. They have helped to add the involvement of viewers in to the movie. The costumes and make-up adds to the originality of the characters and blurs line between reality and fiction.

The sound department of the movie has also done a commendable job. The music composed by Bijibal adds charm to the mood of the movie and lyrics of the songs compliments the storyline of the movie.

Over all, "Varsham" is a movie worth investing your time and money. The makers have made an honest approach to make the film a pleasing one to watch, and the director, the cast and the crew deserves appreciation for bringing out something worth watching.

verdict - 7/10 +1 for acting = 8/10

Finding a reason to plod on

[sesht · 12 November 2014]

Wonderful change of pace for actor Mammooty, whose talents haven't been as utilized of late (the same is true of his counterparts as well).

The plot itself is very simple and grounded with the travails of a self-centered upper middle class family, suddenly and unexpectedly forced to deal with something very bad that befalls them all, and how each of their arcs twists and turns to deal with it, along with trying to make sense of the other things in life, most of which all of them had turned a blind eye to, assuming they were impervious to it all. Though not too subtle, it gives us a glimpse into human nature, and does not make a martyr of anyone, and Mammooty should be lauded for playing a role with very grey shades for most of this flick's runtime (from that perspective, he did not have it as easy as Mohanlal did in 'Drishyam', since that focused more on the lead's smarts, and though some consider there were grey shades to it, IMO, it was pure 'Doodh ka dhula' white).

Asha Sharath, who was fantastic as the focused cop-mom on 'Drishyam', give an equally powerful performance over here, and I sure hope we get to see her in more meaty roles in the future too. She plays both an able foil to Mammooty's character, as well as more than holds her own in key sequences, sometimes just by being there. Very well-written.

Mamta Mohandas gets a very strong supporting role, and though her character feels kinda shoehorned in within the context of 2 key sequences, her presence and performance make us ignore that convenience, and file it under 'artistic license'.

Among the negatives, the score is pathetic, but more on that later. My biggest grouse was how this overstayed its welcome, and that fact makes it inferior to 'Drishyam', at least in my book. After a key sequence and a small 'twist', which would have been a great time to wind things up, the makers decide to have a lengthy epilogue (yeah, without calling it that). I have as much patience as the next aficionado, and am not a typical mainstream flick frequenter, but the makers, esp. the editor, have totally missed the bus on that aspect.

Making the protagonists upper middle class was also perhaps not necessary (smacks of pandering towards production design making everything seem sleek), but it's better than making them upper class. On the other hand, staying in that milieu might also be responsible for reinforcing their sense of being 'privileged' enough not to bother much about how the bottom rung lives. Once again, benefit of doubt goes to the makers.

The background score is pretty bad, and if anything ever screamed out for re-scoring (remember, 'Drive', one of the best movies knows for its BGS, has been re-scored - I don't know why), then this is it, literally, and figuratively.

All in all, a very good way to spend your time at the cinema, provided you are not expecting mindless mainstream fare, and are equipped to deal with some dark themes as well.