‘Irupathiyonnam Noottandu’ has a contemporariness that is regrettably restricted to its title. Beyond that, it’s a hollow show that cinematically falls way behind its times.
The title cards of Arun Gopy’s ‘Irupathiyonnam Noottandu’ strategically place a mirror across the key social incidents that the state has witnessed over the last decade, making you wonder if the film, will have a social statement to make. An exasperating three hours and a whirlwind of a romance later, you are left with a slog of a film that is marred by its own writing and little else.
Pranav Mohanlal plays Appu, who runs a quaint home stay at Goa, and whose life is ridden with the debts that his dad, whom he calls Baba (Manoj K Jayan), has accrued over the years. When he runs into Zaya (Zaya David) at the Russian New Year bash, the girl tags along, and it does not take long before love strikes.
A couple of songs later, when Zaya disappears one fine morning, Appu and his pal who is affectionately addressed as Macroni (Abhishek Raveendran) head over to Kanjirapally, where they make a startling discovery about her. When Appu finally coaxes her to run away with him, the couple finds the entire police force hot on their heels.
It’s the writing that is a tremendous let down in ‘Irupathiyonnam Noottandu’, and the former half of the film is a set of sequences that are tied together haphazardly, that quite evidently suggests that the USP of the film is certainly not going to be its story line. It instead makes do with cashing in on the rising stardom of its leading star, and strategically designs scenes to uncover the star in Pranav.
Which is why, the film makes him drive a Porsche, step out of it in regal Malayali attire, and walk towards the camera in real slo-mo, when he has actually arrived to serve food as part of the catering team at a wedding. The scene is ingenuously devised, and the justifications laid out on a platter, if at all it might be of interest to someone.
In another scene, Zaya is heard quoting none other than Dulqer Salman, and Appu quips that though he might not be Dulquer, he does have an identity of his own. There are also pointers to the legacy that he has inherited, and all these, ring plain empty in a script that is apparently a bit too concerned with how obsessed with religion we have turned out to be.
In order to further accentuate his point, the film maker brings in Francis (Gokul Suresh), a hardcore communist who helps the duo in distress. He does manage to sneak them out in what comes across as an unintentionally hilarious act, but not before delivering a few more lectures on how even Mother Teresa had embodied the communist ideology through her deeds.
The action sequences by Peter Hein make you drop your jaws in disbelief on account of their patchiness. The final sequence inside and atop a train could easily qualify for one of the worst visual effects that have been witnessed in recent times. Equally surprising was the fact that the ever dependable Abinandan Ramanujam is the man behind the camera, with the film never really exhibiting none of those flashes of brilliance that the man is renowned for.
Pranav tries hard to pull it off yet again, and it shows. As in ‘Aadhi’, he is remarkably good when it comes to the action scenes, but struggles and strives hard in the rest. Zaya David plays it way over the top, and so does Manoj K Jayan. When it comes to performances, Abhishek is refreshingly good, and so is Harish Ravi, who delivers the villain act with élan.
‘Irupathiyonnam Noottandu’ has a contemporariness that is regrettably restricted to its title. Beyond that, it’s a hollow show that cinematically falls way behind its times.
Verdict: Strictly Average