In Full Bloom!

Among the current crop of filmmakers, Lal Jose, in my opinion, is the most talented. He is a master when it comes to making entertaining films based on simple themes and without compromising on the aesthetics of film making as an art. No wonder then that someone like M T Vasudevan Nair trusted Lal Jose with "Neelathamara"- a simple story of love, hope and redemption that is being remade after 30 odd years.

The best thing of Neelathamara is definitely its old world charm and the feeling of nostalgia it evokes in you. I would not be surprised if you tell me that you felt like being part of the story and the characters. Neelathamara does not narrate a story as such, it is a journey into the lives of few individuals and narrates few key events from their lives.

It is all about Kunjimaalu (Archana Kavi), the new maid servant at Malootty Amma's (Sreedevi Unni) palatial house who falls for the charms of her employer's son, Haridas (Kailash) and falls hopelessly in love with him. Haridas exploits her feelings for him and ends up marrying Ratnam (Samvrutha Sunil). Kunjimaalu endures this silently but when Ratnam finds out about her feelings for Haridas, she asks Kunjimaalu to leave the house.

Years later, they all meet only to discover that Haridas is dead, Ratnam is re married, Kunjimaalu is happily married to her cousin, Appukuttan (Suresh) and Malootty Amma is in the last stages of her life. They all sympathise with each other, accept each other as they are and bear no ill feelings to anybody. Neelathamara blooms in the temple pond after a very long time and signifies that all is well that ends well.

Neelathamara blooms slowly and the viewer has to be patient enough to enjoy every small nuances associated with the story. Newcomers Kailash and Archana Kavi play their parts skilfully and can give any veteran a run for his/ her money. Sreedevi Unni is a complete natural. Samvrutha Sunil is the surprise package of the movie. Suresh has very little to do and the scriptwriter in MT comes to the forefront through the characterization of Sharathe Ammini (Reema Kallingal, extremely HOT). Only the discerning viewer can understand the subtle hints given by the scriptwriter about what Ammini goes through and what causes her tragic demise.

Vijay Ulaganathan's camera captures the beauty of Valluvanad and the simplicity of the setting captivatingly. Renjan Abraham does a fine job with his scissors and the end product is as fluid as a well written poem. Gokul Das recreates the ambience of the 70's extremely well and Cuckoo Parameswaran deserves kudos for her job with the costumes. Melody king Vidyasagar resurfaces with all his might here and the entire state is going ga ga over "Anuraga vilochananayi". The other tracks are also equally mesmerizing and Vayalar Sharath proves his pedigree with the lyrics.

To sum up, Neelathamara is like a painting or a poetry. It takes its time to bloom. If you have the patience to get sucked into the experience, you will come out enchanted!