Sooryan Malayalam Movie
V.M. Vinu attempts a very different kind of blending with Sooryan, where he brings together music, action, sentiments and some amount of humour too. But the film, in spite of having a well-written script and in spite of being rather well-made, fails to impress and falters somewhere. It seems the storyline chosen has shades of many earlier films and the theme is one that would have gone well with audiences in the late 1980's or early 1990's. The total tempo and pace of the film and the mood created by the subject would be unwelcome in today's scenario.
Sooryan tells the story of Sooryanarayanan, who is a very popular and accomplished singer. His family comprises of his mother and his widowed sister Raji and her two kids. There is also his eldest sister, who is married to a rather good-for nothing fellow named Sundaran, who has a habit of getting into trouble, only to be saved in the nick of time by Sooryanarayanan. One day, while Sooryanarayanan is on a hospital visit with his niece, he sees someone who sends the shivers down his spine. That someone is Simon Thekkilakaadan, who is crippled and in a wheelchair, and presents a rather pitiful sight.
Thekkilakaadan is accompanied by his sons and others. On seeing them, Sooryanarayanan is shocked and frightened, and hides away in corner. On his way back home, he recollects the incidents of his past, beginning with his father Harinarayanan, a gifted singer of classical music, who was his guru too. From there his memory traces events one by one. He remembers how he nursed ambitions of becoming a good singer himself, and how shocked he was when he came to know of the huge debts incurred by his father in the course of looking after the needs of the family. He sets out to get a job to help his father clear the liabilities and joins a bank.
Things are going fine when one day he accidentally meets his college-mate and friend Cheriyan, who is a former minister. The meeting is destined to be a turning point in Sooryan's life and gradually he meanders into a world of crime and goondaism. Sooryan also meets a girl Maya, who finds a place in his heart and who also starts loving him. But things are not going to be smooth for Sooryan.
Jayaram is perfect as Sooryan while Saikumar delivers a startling performance as Harinarayanan. Suresh Krishna as Cheriyan, Vijayaraghavan as Simon Thekkilakaadan, Vimala as Maya, Nandini as Raji, Sreehari as Sundaran all render full support with their performances. Harisri Ashokan, who plays Nandan, Sooryan's accomplice and Vayalar Rana as Nandan's father Nambeeshan are perfect.
The technical aspects are well taken care of. The songs are well in sync with the mood and tempo of the film. The songs though good, don't make much of an impression as the film doesn't leave a lasting impact on your minds. The debutante scenarists have done a good job, but in totality the film doesn't impress. Several sequences in the film seem to be identical to those in many earlier ones. Same is the case with the characters - most of whom you seem to have met earlier, in one film or the other.
There seems to be something wrong with the storyline too. It doesn't seem impressive or outstanding. And the pace and the mood don't seem to appeal to the movie-goers of today, who have a decisive role to play in the success of any film at the box office. It seems like bad times for V.M.Vinu, who also does a cameo in the film as a seller of tender coconuts. Better luck next time Vinu!
