The actor/director Sidharth Bharathan's accident and serious injuries were a shock for Malayalam film lovers two years ago. But his miraculous recovery from these injuries is proving to be a boon for the Malayalam film industry through his latest and third venture as director of “Varnyathil Aashanka” (translation: “Confusion in Description”).
“Varnyathil Aashanka” focuses on a bunch of small time crooks Kauta Sivan (Kunchacko Boban), Para Wilson (Chemban Vinod), Pratheesh (Shine Tom Chacko) and Chambakkara Gilbert (Manikandan Achari). Through a chain of events, they come together for a heist on a hartal (strike) day. Dayanandan (Suraj Venjaramoodu) an unemployed family man, accidentally enters the scenario.
While the plot is quite simple, it's the subject treatment that makes the film interesting. The screenplay, written by Thrissur Goplaji, is the backbone of the film. Each and every dialogue is driven by a clear political stand while keeping it humorous. In the trend of the most acclaimed films in recent Malayalam times, here the director also chooses a realistic approach of portraying the characters and events. There have been a number of films in Malayalam film industry in which the Thrissur accent is spoken by the characters. In most such cases, the accent is over the top or the stereotyped use of slang is frequented. “Varnyathil Aashanka” might well be the first film to portray Thrissur accent in such authenticity.
The structure of the film is also very intriguing as we never know who to root for, because we want to root for everyone even though it is not the right thing to do. The actions of the characters are never justified, yet we don't want them to fail. The mysterious phone calls received by Pratheesh create a tension which unravel into the decision he makes. The reverence among other members of the gang towards Sivan for his previous job's success also leads to the same decision.
The accidental involvement of political parties and the consequent political assassination that leads to the strike, also makes up the mind of the gang for the heist. At each point, the political implications are hard to miss yet never losing the humor for the sake of it. The introduction of Dayanandan is made only after establishing all other characters. Dayanandan is an ex-bar supplier who is unemployed due to the shutdown of bars which are not five-starred. Dayanandan's reluctance to look for some new jobs and the love for alcohol that all the main characters share marks how such measures taken by the government are effective.
While the marketing of the film tried to make it look like a Kunchacko Boban starred film, he was just one of the ensemble cast in the end. He ends up portraying a drunkard thief which is not his usual forte. Kunchacko Boban succeeds in showcasing his abilities as an actor by choosing roles that are not so typical for him and performing them with ease. Chemban Vinod does what he is good at and Shine Tom Chacko proves his potential once again. For the first time after his acclaimed role in “Kammattipaadam,” Manikandan Achari gets a role in which he can use his acting skills without looking out of the place.
But Suraj Venjaramoodu steals the show as Dayanandan, who seemed to be a lazy guy at first, but later it becomes clear that he's more cunning and intelligent than most of the characters. At one point, Suraj's career wasn't looking very hopeful as his same kind of comedic roles were starting to become very repetitive. But then he received the national award for his performance in “Perariyathavar.” The subsequent roles in “Action Hero Biju,” “Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum” and now “Varnyathil Aashanka” cemented his caliber as well as his position in Malayalam film industry. The climax speech scene showcases both his acting skills and the witty and socially committed dialogues delivered.
Even the small characters appearing, like the police officers portrayed by Tini Tom and Dinesh Prabhakar, politician and brother of Sivan portrayed by Kichu etc., were perfect in their respective roles.
Costume design by Stephy Zaviour is noteworthy as each character is wearing what matches their personalities. Let it be the ambitiousness of Gilbert through his glossy shirts, the unique taste and pride of Sivan, the well built, but foolish Wilson with Johnny Bravo T-shirts, Pratheesh who's always in trouble like in a cat and mouse games with his Tom & Jerry T-shirts or the quite ordinary and lazy looking Dayanandan who changes a lot by the end of the film.
Homage given for classic Malayalam satires like “Sandesham” and “Meesha Madhavan” through using characters from those films as predecessors of characters in this film was a nice touch.
The title “Varnyathil Aashanka” is an excerpt from the definition of metaphors in Malayalam. The film itself is a political satire in the disguise of a heist comedy, thus justifying the title. Sidharth Bharathan, son of the late director Bharathan proves that he is a worthy successor to continue his father's legacy by making his best film yet.
