‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ is the kind of film that warms up the cockles of your heart. A film with a real pulse, ‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ keeps you hooked from moment to moment, and yes, Nissam Basheer seems to have a winner in his hands!
The road to this hilly town in central Kerala is well travelled, and yet Nissam Basheer’s ‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ smells as fresh as the morning breeze that carries the scent of cardamom in. This is a classic tale of love that sets in post-marriage, and yet the lead pair with a couple of downright endearing performances keeps this film afloat.
Sleevachan (Asif Ali) has touched thirty five and isn’t still sure if he wants to get married. He does agree to tie the knot however with Rincy (Veena Nandhakumar), but not before his fussy sisters have scrutinized the alliance in all detail. Rincy is in for a quite a few surprises, with her husband who seems to be a tad too coy, leading the pack.
Sleevachan meanwhile heads over to the priest and confesses that he isn’t that acquainted with the birds and the bees. The priest sounds almost relieved and is delighted that Rincy – who happens to be family – has had the fortune of marrying a man who is as naive as Sleevachan. He assures Sleevachan than these are things that require no formal training and the wedding over, a terrified Sleevanchan is left all alone to fend for himself.
‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ is as much about the sexual concerns of a young man who finds his bed shared overnight by a young girl, as it is about his struggle to move away from the sheltered confines that have been warmly laid out by his protective elder sisters and mother. There is a detailing to the defence mechanisms that he adopts, and his newly wedded wife can only watch him in a mix of suspicion and astonishment.
The puzzlement and the uncertainty that overwhelm Rincy move to overpowering proportions when her husband fleetingly takes on the role of a monster one night. Within no time, the couple sits on either side of a wall that has been built of mix-ups and misinterpretations, and decides that probably it would be too difficult to move forward.
Despite the film brimming with stereotypes, it puts up a very decent show, with the script writer Aji Peter Thankam blowing life into scenes and sequences that are downright solid. There are several other characters that Basheer adds in to complete this portrait, and Sleevanchan’s mother (Manoharai Joy), his assistant Kunjambi (Basil Joseph), the nosy aunt Mariyamma (Alice) or even the local hair dresser Bombay Sajeevan (Raveendran) who vengefully messes up the hair of the grooms-to-be, are all etched to perfection.
‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ strikes you as genuinely heartfelt and has an ample dose of smiles and sighs in store. Also worth a mention is the even tone that it maintains throughout, with never a dip in the charm levels. And it is indeed a surprise as to how this overtly familiar tale impresses you, despite our knowing very well as to where it is all headed.
Sleevachan is an adorable character, and thrives on the vivacious charm of the actor who plays it. Yet another gorgeous performance that we have seen from Asif Ali this year, Sleevachan is effortlessly and efficiently played by the actor. There is also an outstanding performance from Veena Nandhakumar, who holds her own opposite a performer like Asif, and in a few scenes even drags the carpet from right under his feet.
‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ is the kind of film that warms up the cockles of your heart. A film with a real pulse, ‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Maalakha’ keeps you hooked from moment to moment, and yes, Nissam Basheer seems to have a winner in his hands!
Verdict: Decent Watch