Njanum Ente Familiyum Malayalam Movie
K K Rajeev's directorial debut in feature films 'Njanum Ente Familyum' talks of an extramarital relationship that goes awry, and ruins a marriage in the process. Despite solid performances from the leading cast, the source material and the odd decisions in the script weaken the film totally.
Dr. Dinan (Jayaram) is a renowned cardiac surgeon, who ahs been busy running a hospital and a sweet family that comprises of his doctor wife Priya (Mamta Mohandas) and two kids. A chance encounter with Sophy (Mythili) whom he was once in love with rekindles smothered emotions with in Dinan, and along with her goes on a journey from which there is no return.
The human mind does make up interesting material for a writer to dwell upon, and this is exactly what Kalpakavady has in mind when he sets out to take a closer look at the heart of a cardiac surgeon. Where he loses out on, is that not much light is shed on none of the relationships in the film, precisely since the characters appear half-baked.
I do agree that the change in scenario past the interval comes as a surprise, but somehow this is the kind of a surprise that takes down a film with it. Its here that the film starts losing ground, and in no time you start wondering where it's all headed.
The other woman as always, is doomed for disaster, and 'Njanum Ente Familyum' takes it a step further with a shocker twist that makes her disappear from the film as if in a magical act. Come to think of it, perhaps the scenarist felt that this was the best way in which things could finally come to an amicable settlement.
Of the three characters in the film that make up the triangle, Sophy is the only one that has got some flesh and blood, while the other two remain perfect stereotypes. And what's more, Priya suffers most from the onslaught of the writer's pen. Stripped of an identity, she comes across as a baffled individual who doesn't have a clue as to what she should do, when she realizes that her husband has been cheating on her.
The screenplay does remind you of similar films that you had seen in the past; better written ones that had left a mark. How could we forget the IV Sasi - Suresh Gopi film 'Aksharathettu' or even Ranjith's own 'Paavakoothu' that ironically had Jayaram himself playing a man caught between two women.
The acting is uniformly good, and I should say that Jayaram does a remarkable job of playing a man who makes his life miserable with a wrong choice that he makes. Of the women, its Mythili who scores this time around, and the young actress excels in at least a couple of scenes, assuring us that more solid performances are on the way. Mamta does a decent job, as always, of what she has been offered, and establishes further that she is an actress par excellence.
This one is a film that could have turned out to be a compelling drama, had the script been tauter. As of now it merely remains a cluster of clichés that keep bumping into each other in a vacuum.
