Achanurangatha Veedu will leave you disturbed

In spite of being one of the most literate states in the country, Kerala is quite well known for the numerous instances of sexual harassment of women. It is quite a black mark on the otherwise clean image of the state. It is this sorry state of affair that forms the crux of Lal Jose directed “Achanurangatha Veedu”. The movie deals with the travails of Samuel (Salim Kumar), a widower and his three daughters (Suja Karthika, Samvrutha Sunil and Muktha George). Samuel is a converted X’ian and a follower of the Pentecostal Mission. He is a widower employed with the state government. His eldest daughter is married to a government driver, who is a habitual drunkard and lives with him since the father owes her arrears of dowry. His second daughter has completed her studies and is whining away her time at home. Samuel’s hopes are pinned on Lisamma (Muktha George), his youngest daughter who is the apple of his eye. Lisamma is a good student and Samuel dreams of making her an Engineer. All hell breaks loose when one evening Lisamma does not return from school. On enquiry, it is known that Lisamma fails in her school exams and fearing her father, she elopes with the son of a local VIP. The girl is sexually assaulted, abused and handed over to a lady who runs a brothel and after several enquiries; Samuel finally manages to trace Lisamma who is in a very sorry state by then. Samuel approaches the police for justice but he and his family is frowned upon and ridiculed by the law keepers and the public alike. Humiliated and disappointed, Samuel and his girls attempt suicide but are unsuccessful. The court convicts Samuel and his two older daughters to imprisonment for fear of them attempting suicide a second time round and the movie ends with the disturbing visual of Lisamma being approached by the madam who runs a brothel. It requires guts and gumption to take up a subject like flesh trade and come up trumps with it. Lal Jose, the director; Babu Janardhanan, the script writer and Reji Joseph, the producer deserve special mention for having come up with a movie that deals with a subject like this. The characters are natural and the situations are drawn out of everyday life. The narrative follows a non- linear format and moves back and forth in time which brings forth a compromise on the effectiveness of the narrative. Probably, Lal Jose wanted to make this as commercial a film as possible. Camera by debutant Manoj Pillai captures the beauty of Peerumedu in its entire splendor. The darkly lit frames towards the second half of the movie more than expresses the mental trauma of the protagonists. Editing is good. Background score enhances the mood of the movie. Music by Alex Paul blends very well with the narrative. All technical departments contribute immensely to the aesthetics of the movie. Muktha George makes a confident debut playing Lisamma. Samvrutha Sunil and Suja Karthika are adequate. Murali does a neat job as expected of a veteran. Prithviraj playing the college student and Indrajith who plays the sympathetic inspector do justice to their respective characters. However, it’s Salim Kumar who carries the entire film on his shoulders. The actor makes excellent use of the rare opportunity that has come his way and proves to one and all that he is not just another comedian. Malayalam cinema can be blessed with a few more inspired performances if directors take note of the immense talent that Salim Kumar possesses. In short, Achanurangatha Veedu is a must watch for the unique path the plot prods on and also for Lal Jose’s sensitive treatment of the theme.