Pattinte Palazhy Malayalam Movie
'Pattinte Palazhy', Rajeev Anchal's latest film, is sluggish and curiously distant. It attempts to tell a shallow tale, all the while enshrouding it under a thick mist of music.
Veena (Meera Jasmine) along with her dad (Jagathy Sreekumar) has arrived in Chennai, and hopes to be a playback singer some day. When Amir (Manoj K Jayan) a sandalwood dealer runs across her, he promises her a bright career in films. As nothing in life comes without a price, Veena agrees to get married to Amir.
The film suffers from plenty of troubles, the most significant one being that it fails to draw us into its woes. There is lots of talk as to how badly Veena wants to be a singer, but little visual support to emphasise it. And then the tragedy that engulfs her life is mostly conveyed through dialogues that sound melodramatic. This is why it's difficult to sympathize with Veena, however traumatic they wants us to belive her life to be.
Scenes that appear odd and quite artificial are more than a few. Back on the way from the hospital after discovering that she's pregnant, Veena makes Amir stop the car midway and jumps out to start a debate on whether or not to have the baby. Almost all scenes that feature Amir along with his business partner Anwar (Krishnakumar) seem to be wedged into this film from some other movie. So does the psychiatrist who arrives from Edinburgh, Dr. Raziya (Revathy) who almost always speaks synthetically.
There are plenty of other films that come to mind, as we watch 'Pattinte Palazhy'. The tale of a bruised male ego that ventures out to destroy a woman's life is nothing new. In fact, it has been told so often, that film makers had actually taken a break from telling the story again. Comparisons with 'Abhimaan' are bound to arise, though the male lead here is no great artiste himself. The climax is reminiscent of several other films that banks on that one song in the finale to finally wrap up the story. And the twist that awaits us at the very end was just seen a few months back in 'Kadaksham'.
There is a scene in 'Pattinte Palazhi' where Meera watches the cooking going on at a roadside dhaba, and comments on the music of it. One cant help thinking of the Freddie Hymore starrer 'August Rush' directed by Kirsten Sheridan, that talked of a young boy who found music in every little happening around him.
It's disheartening that a film that so much relies on music lets us majorly down when it comes to its musical score. There are a couple of songs in here that are indeed noteworthy, but they come in at unbelievably wrong moments. When Veena is all hopeful about the singing career that she is sure she would have; when the girl is all exuberant and brimming with optimism, there is not a song in sight. Life becomes pretty hard for her, and her hopes are dashed, and along comes a flurry of melancholic numbers, in quick succession.
Meera's obsession with characters that have a psychotic strain in them continues in 'Pattinte Palazhy'. For the most part, she does it pretty well, but then goes overboard all on a sudden. Manoj K Jayan doesn't have much to do here except hover around in the background looking all glitzy. Revathy, Nedumudi Venu (sporting a hilarious looking beard) and Jagathy Sreekumar lend support.
Azhakappan's mesmerizing shots are the sole saving grace in the film. Otherwise it's impossible to be lured by the magic of music in 'Pattinte Palazhy'. It doesn't score much as the weeper movie as well. At best, it leaves you out there, all cold.
