ASK - Aaru Sundarimarude Katha Malayalam Movie
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'Aaru Sunadarimarude Katha' did have some real excellent thriller potential, but it hopelessly loses itself working up just the bare-minimum requirements of a thriller. The result is that it feels generic , with all the plot twists seeming to appear straight out of some other film that you have seen somewhere else.
Chachi Moothedan (Zarina Wahab) is an incredibly wealthy woman in her seventies , based in Wagamon, who has just discovered the internet and its miracles. Chachi's only daughter Rose (Nadia Moithu) and her husband Alex Paul (Prathap Pothen) run a television network started by Chachi's late husband. Rose and Alex have a daughter, named Anju (Umang Jain), who is a budding talent in tennis, who dreams of playing a Grand Slam pretty soon.
Away from the Moothedan family is Sreekumar (Narain), a software engineer who is one among the many victims of the recession, and his wife Meena (Shamna Kasim), a bored young woman who spends her time looking after their baby and imagining of her husband's affairs. When Sreekumar comes across Rose on Facebook, they renew a friendship that existed years back in school.
The first few minutes of 'Aaru Sunadarimarude Katha' had me all engrossed. All perked up, I sat up telling myself that this one is gonna be worth a watch for sure. Fifteen minutes into the film, I had slumped onto my seat, learning the lesson the hard way, that not all jobs well begun are really half done.
The directorial finesse that one witnesses as the film starts, wears off in no time, with a script that goes all wobbly. In no time, 'Aaru Sunadarimarude Katha' turns out to be one of those films that tries hard to be a moral lesson on the use of technology in the comforts of our living rooms.
The illicit relationships that men are after forever, form the crux of this film as well. Alex is one such middle aged man, frantically trying to make the best of the rest of his years, and with money and power in his hands, there seem to be no dearth of eager women around him as well. He strikes a friendship with a woman named Cyns (Lena), with disastrous consequences.
Perhaps with an intention to keep you at the edge of your seats, the makers decide to make 'Aaru Sunadarimarude Katha' a murder mystery, with Cyns bumped off with a bullet pumped straight onto her forehead. And to keep the suspense intact, Chachi does not reveal who the sixth beauty in the 'Aaru Sunadarimar' is, but if you are a keen observer, you wouldn't have much trouble figuring out that puzzle.
I should say that the scene where the revelation is made as to who the sixth beauty is, is the worst in the film. It's plain embarrassing in fact, and though you have been expecting it all along, the disclosure makes you want to laugh out aloud.
Of the performers, Nadia towers over the rest of the cast, and packs a punch when it comes to her performance as Rose Moothedan. I wish her dubbing was better though, and all the other actors - Zarina Wahab, Lena, Prathap Pothen, Narain and Shamna Kasim - do a commendable job. Umang Jain however appears a bit jolted, while Lekshmi Rai is around in a role that is unintentionally amusing.
'Aaru Sunadarimarude Katha' is all about pursuing one's dreams, and with the six protagonists in the film - all women - dealing with their aspirations in multiple ways, it does fleetingly take a look at gender issues. But it's way too peripheral and offers very little, if not no insight.
