Mizhi Malayalam Movie
'Mizhi' is an atrocious piece of film making that would make you wonder if everything is indeed right with the world. It's a losing bet all the way, that makes it seem like it has a very valid social statement to make, but on the contrary ends up doing something else.
The film revolves around a nameless, deranged woman who wanders into a fictional village by the name of Ithikkara. Within moments, she has the men folks making advances on her, and night after night she is raped as if there is no tomorrow. When she ends up roaming the streets fully pregnant, the village waits with bated breath to find out who the father of her child is.
Thus 'Mizhi' intends to talk of the grave offences committed towards women in the society, but turns out to be one of those exploitative films that put up some skin on show. Enter Susheela (Sona Heiden), a quarry worker with too many studs on her ears and her hair dyed a golden brown, who takes the battered girl under her wings. Susheela is a woman with a golden heart, but you cannot really blame the audience if she ends up mere eye candy.
As if having Susheela around wasn't enough, along sashays in Vasanthi, a money lender who has no purpose whatsoever in the tale, except the clothes that she has worn for her scenes. She roams around in a lungi and blouse, much like Susheela does, and together they ensure that the whistles and catcalls are all intact.
What is funnier is the way the story moves forward. There are quite a few men around who would love to have their way with the poor girl, and you are made to wait until each one of them has fulfilled his desire. How many scenes in a film would you expect to be marked off to portray abuse? 'Mizhi' would betray all your expectations and leave you squirming in your seats.
What's more? There is even a romantic thread that is drawn into this miserable mess, and you have a school teacher (Sudheesh) falling in love with the girl. Lost in love, he starts singing a song while in the classroom, and his students conclude that he is nuts.
There are the good Samaritans around as well, with Susheela leading the pack. A hotel help (Biyon) is traumatized by what the girl has been going through, and lends her help as and when he can. There is a landlady (Seema G Nair), who feels sympathetic towards her, while her manager is least pleased with her concerns.
The acting is unbelievable, especially that of a few new comers who have facial expressions quite similar to that of a cardboard cutout. The dubbing is even worse, with the dialogues streaming out minutes after the lips have uttered them. It would be quite an understatement to state that the technicalities are nothing short of dismal.
'Mizhi' has a hundred factors working against it. Muddled, inert and manipulative it's the kind of a film that I wouldn't dare touch with a barge pole. That is, if I had a choice.
