Venalmaram Malayalam Movie

Motive in film is everything. It's here that the film dreadfully fails and the tree comes crashing down. Thud. Mar 17, 2009 By Veeyen

Somebody who walked into a late night show of 'Venalmaram' with me was all perked up in anticipation. For he had heard of the film or rather its makers being heavily inspired by none less than Bharathan . Obviously, he had heard wrong.

As much as it asserts that it has a significant tale to tell; that of a deaf and mute youngster Vinayakan (Bala) in love with his childhood sweetheart (Lakshana), the film sways this way and that before its sail catches fire and it drowns into obscurity.

It does bring back old memories, but unfortunately not the ones associated with Bharathan. We do remember those skin flicks of the late eighties and early nineties that came camouflaged as thrillers and adventures that ultimately never got beyond those jungles and waterfalls.

With a voluptuous Sona having occupied a major chunk of those posters splashed liberally all over the town, it wasn't exactly surprising that there were quite a few people out there to see what this summer tree was all about. And they get to see her spring up all on a sudden somewhere in the midst of the film, squashing down the remnants of a story that was being told.

And she occupies central stage for a while, maneuvering the narrative like a real drunk driver who has forgotten to switch on his headlights out there in the dead of the night. And the inevitable smash comes a bit later which sends the film toppling down the doom tunnel. It doesn't take a couple of minutes to pull the curtains down on her feat; she makes an abrupt exit, as unexpectedly as she had appeared.

The pre and post Sona phases of the film appear more like recycled stuff, but does show a shimmer of promise in at least a few frames that have been brilliantly captured. There are a few moments of power and sheer earnestness, which totally get lost in the rest of the absurdities.

It's evidently high on lust and low on reason, and even the eroticism touches an all time low on the erometer. Neither persuasively passionate nor compellingly interesting, Venalmaram turns out to be a big time disappointment.

There is nothing much to rave about the performances either, barring that of Bala, who does pretty well when he's asked to shake a leg or throw up a fight. Sona seems as perplexed as the rest of us, and doesn't have an inkling as to what she's doing in the film.

Motive in film is everything. It's here that the film dreadfully fails and the tree comes crashing down. Thud.