Ridiculously good. Review on Drishyam (Malayalam)

It is not often that you sit in a theater with bated breath, never wanting to miss a moment of the film on screen. Writer ­director Jeethu Joseph’s Drishyam is one such film, a gripping tale that leaves you spellbound with its skillful craft.

Drishyam is the story of a normal middle class family living in a little town Rajakad located in Idukki district, Kerala. The protagonist Georgekutty(Mohanlal) is a 4th std dropout who runs a small local Cable TV business. His family includes his wife Rani(Meena) and their two daughters, Anju in 12th and Anu in 8th std.

Georgekutty loves his family but is a miser, much to the annoyance of his wife and amusement of his children. He spends most of his time at the cable office, watching movies of all languages.

Director Jeethu Joseph sets up most of the first half as a sweet family drama about a happy household with the usual chaos mixed with cackles of laughter, so typical of an Indian middle-class home.

All that changes when a boy, who is the son of IG of Police, tries to blackmail Geoergekutty's elder daughter Anju with the help of a  video clip he recorded during a school nature trip they had taken together.  The next day, the boy is found to be missing. This sets up the second half  of the movie as a relentless cat-and-mouse thriller.

How Georgekutty schemes to save his family even as the police focus their investigation solely on him right from the beginning due to a moment of bad luck is a masterpiece of story-telling. Barely literate, he needs to use his street smarts and years of watching movies as a sole guide to execute the perfect plan to save his family.

The yin to Georgekutty's yan is the mother of the missing boy, police IG Geetha Prabhakar(Asha sarath). Just as Mohanlal's character would do anything to save his family, the grieving mother too would go to any lengths to find out where her son is.

As each layer of the investigation unfolds, along with the police, you too get a glimpse of how well Georgekutty has thought ahead and prepared his wife and children for the psychological and physical tortures that the police would rain down upon them. In most thriller films, you can almost guess what the final twist will be, but not here. The final twists in the tale are tremendously smart and form the perfect icing to this wonderful thriller-cake.

There are many who deserve plaudits for this movie. Kalabhavan Shajon, usually a comic side role, makes a very good villainous cop here who's out to get Georgekutty to settle old scores. Meena too is adorable as the wife who wants more for herself and her children before calamity strikes her family. Her scenes with her husband in the first half are sweet, naughty and so genuine that every middle class family can relate to them.

The two girls who played their daughters also did a great job. Whether it was being coy while listening to their parents bicker or conversely breaking down out of fear, they are simply brilliant. For once, even the two songs of the movie are relevant as scenes within them take on a new interpretation later on in the movie. Asha Sarath as the mother of the missing boy is stubborn and breathes fire for the most part yet is vulnerable at times and does both roles with style and vigor.

There are two people who will walk away with the main applause at the end. Mohanlal, of course, is an obvious choice. It is when he plays roles like this - the common man in trouble - that the best of his acting talents are showcased and Drishyam is a perfect example.

Underestimated by the police because he is an illiterate simpleton, the plan he sets in motion to save his family is truly amazing. At no point during the movie does he resort to any filmy bravado - this is a poor man taking kicks, punches and verbal abuse submissively for the sake of his family while simultaneously playing a very smart game with the police.

The true hero, of course, is director Jeetu Joseph. Fresh after the success of the psychological thriller'Memories', the director seems to be even more grounded here - the visuals of the idyllic countryside, the regular family life, the logical threat to a family and the sequences that follow - all of this could happen to any of us.

Each scene serves a purpose, whether to give you an insight into the dynamics of the character or to set up a scene later on. Right from the meaning of the movie title down to the very last line uttered in the film, everything has a certain significance.

It is after a long time that I am seeing a crowd giving a standing ovation within a theater and this movie richly deserves it. As the climax scene rolls, Kutty and Joseph have the last laugh, leaving the audience stunned and asking: ‘Why did I not think of that before?’ Because until then, without their realizing, Kutty’s problem had become theirs to solve.

This movie leaves us thinking that If it were your family in trouble and you knew you were up against a police official, would you trust the law and judicial system to be fair to you? I know my answer is the same as within the movie - a resounding'NO'.

The bigwigs in Bollywood have a lot to learn from this film. Making movies which are hated by everyone who saw it and then boasting that you earned 500 crores just because you released it in bulk with Rs 900/- tickets does not make your film good.

Focus on making a believable film rather than one where the'perfectionist actor' can turn his bike into a jet ski and back. Grow up, Bollywood. You can make entertaining thrillers without leaving your brains at home. Drishyam is an unforgettable picture, devoid of irrational fight sequences and mindless dance numbers.

This is the Mohanlal we fell in love with through his earlier films, without the larger-than-life images of his subsequent films. Luckily for non-Malayalam speakers, the remake rights for Drishyam have already been sold in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, and Jeethu could potentially direct them too. Vikram seems to be the front runner for the Tamil remake.

Don't miss this movie under any circumstances.

Good day.