Satyan Anthikkad is one veteran director who has kept
himself constantly updated about the changes happening in the Malayalam Cinema.
His filmography of late has been accused of being the ‘same routil odunna
Autorickshaw,’ but his success rate has been astounding, barring an occasional ‘Puthiya
Theerangal’ here and there.
Writer Dr. Iqbal Kuttippuram’s earlier work (Meow) was
an enjoyable fare except for the last twenty minutes (with a pretty lame
climax). It had genuine emotional and laugh-worthy moments. But here, with a
moth-laden script that takes its own sweet time to figure out what it is all
about, he struggles to elicit any emotion in the viewers. Makal is also one of
those movies confused about its ‘central conflict’ for a significant portion of
its run-time. The movie also gives a vibe that it is multiple movies all rolled
into one! In the beginning, one gets the feeling that this one is going to be
the travails of a mother-daughter duo who have to take care of themselves
(something like an ‘Achivinte Amma’), but pretty soon, with the entry of
Jayaram and his ‘Pravaasi’ curry powder, it starts looking like an expatriate’s
efforts at starting a new life in his home country (Varavelpu, Poly Technic, Punyaalan
Agarbathies). But pretty soon, with (an unnecessary cameo by) Sreenivasan’s
character, the focus suddenly shifts to Organic Farming and some lecture on ‘viral’
marketing (‘Pattabhi Raman,’ ‘How Old are You’) only to land at its actual core
central conflict towards the climax point.
Coming to the positives, S.Kumar’s frames were pleasant
and managed to gel with the intended mood of the film. The editor has also
managed to keep the run time under 2.30 hours. The movie has a subtext about
inter-faith marriages, which I think was neatly done. I particularly liked how
Meera Jasmine’s character avoided a pretty awkward situation at their ancestral
house. The character played by Nasleen was a hoot (the only saving grace in
this otherwise dull film). Though some of his tricks were quite old ( Jayaram’s
own ‘Kilukkampetty’), the inherent charm with which Nasleen has pulled it off
makes it enjoyable. Devika Sajeev, who plays the titular character, also has
delivered a decent performance. Though Akhil Satyan’s contribution to this
movie is limited to cutting teasers (as per the opening credits) and
promotional material, I firmly believe he had a say in designing Nasleen’s
character and scenes.
The movie wastes a couple of brilliant actors in
totally pointless roles. Besides Sreenivasan, actors like Krishnaprabha (as a
Dance Teacher), Althaf Salim (the ‘thief,’ however one of the only bright spots
providing comic relief), Sreelatha Namboothiri get short-changed for bland characters.
Jayaram had nothing much to do, and to be very frank, he looked aged and tired
as the prodigal father. Though touted as the comeback vehicle for Meera
Jasmine, she also had nothing much to do except look pretty. Her performance felt
plastic, and towards the second half, she is relegated to the background, and
the viewer almost forgets that she was indeed there in the film.
One of the most jaded scripting trope that the writer
has relied upon in this film is the Goonda character (some Kannada-sounding
name which I forgot )who turns up at a crucial juncture in the movie only to give
some life lessons to the father-daughter duo. Though the actor who played that
role gets due credit for playing that role convincingly, the entire subplot
involving his character’s past was cringe-worthy, to say the least! Satyan
Anthikkad films are usually known for hummable songs. But here, the music
department also fails to rise to the expectations. Though ‘Kanmaniye..’ was a
passable one, it’s also not that kind that has a retaining re-listening quality.
Njaan Prakashan and Oru Indian Pranayakadha, though
cliched, were one of the better films from Satyan Anthikkad in recent times.
This one is not even close!
On the whole, Makal is an outdated film that fails to entertain!
(Makal is currently running in theatres)
-nikhimenon
