Jibu Jacob’s film had almost everything going for it, including some real terrific actors and a staunch technical team. And if it still fails to resonate with the viewers, it only has its severely predictable, mawkish story to blame.
‘Ellam Sheriyakum’, Jibu Jacob’s third film after the promising ‘Vellimoonga’ is a dud, and has none of the light hearted humor that had made his debut film stand out among the releases in 2014. Never quite rising above the level of its very mediocre premise, ‘Ellam Sheriyakum’ Is a film that misses the boat.
Ace politician K C Chacko (Siddique) watches his political world crumbling down and his dreams of becoming the Chief Minister of the state burned to ashes, when his daughter Ancy (Rejisha Vijayan) decides to elope with her lover Vineeth (Asif Ali), a member of the rival party, on the eve of the announcement of the election results.
Three years pass by, and a pregnant Ancy expresses a desire to see her parents. When Chacko suffers a heart attack and is admitted to the hospital, Ancy takes to his care, and wins back her dad’s heart. Little does she realize that her dad has other plans, and with the ministry coming crashing down, the state gears itself for yet another assembly election.
Jibu Jacob tries his hand at political satire yet again, and this time wedges in an oft told family tale to perk up things. The ploy backfires, and the family drama that ensues is tedious, with all the mandatory requisites including a weepy mother, an indulgent housekeeper and the rest of the paraphernalia in tact.
The political thread is even more difficult to sit through, and there is nothing that the film offers afresh. It refuses to take sides however, and goes about its task of instilling some good sense into everyone concerned, but the lack of imagination ruins the intent and it all comes across as a bland mashup that doesn’t merit much of an attention.
Essentially the sensitive tale attempts to talk of a tale of tussle between a father and a husband for a girl – more of a struggle for the father and less so for the husband – and it strikes you as hollow, with the emotions dropping right through. Neither does it manage to work out the political thread well, and it’s the usual chaos, minus the entertainment.
It even seems at times as if some effort had been originally pumped into the characterization, but with little effect. See for instance, the silent tailor played by Indrans, and while it initially appears that there could be quite something to write about this man, it turns out otherwise, and he makes little difference to the state of affairs. The bifurcating thread loosely based on a real life honor killing leaves not much of an impact either.
One keeps hoping for new directions along with the makers would lead the story along, but ‘Ellam Sheriyakum’ sticks to the trite. It plays around for a while with surface expectations, appears satisfied with the very contrived formula that it has, and barely manages to keep itself afloat for its running time.
There are at least three solid performers in ‘Ellam Sheriyakum’ – Siddique, Asif Ali and Rejisha – and its sad to see these talents being squandered away by a script that does no justice to them. Ouseppachan’s musical score is appeasing to the ears, and Sreejith Nair’s cinematography quite apposite.
Jibu Jacob’s film had almost everything going for it, including some real terrific actors and a staunch technical team. And if it still fails to resonate with the viewers, it only has its severely predictable, mawkish story to blame.
Verdict: Run-of-the-Mill Drama