Oru Indian Pranayakadha Malayalam Movie
Sathyan Anthikad's 'Oru Indian Pranayakatha' draws a heart all around the title cards , heavily emphasizing that the stage has been set for a love tale. And if that isn't enough, the ultimate romance symbol is laid out in green and orange, literally shouting 'India' from the rooftops.
And it's in a small town in mid-Kerala that we find the film's protagonist Aymanam Sidharthan (Fahadh Fazil) in; a local leader of the RDF party, waiting to contest the elections. However, his hopes are dashed when the High Command opts for a more influential candidate. Almost giving up on his political aspirations, Sidharthan takes up a job as an assistant to a young woman named Irene (Amala Paul) who has just arrived from Canada, to make a film on orphanages.
Now here is the conclusion. Its bad news when you have a heroine who's back in the country after a long while, searching for roots. If she's a documentarian with profound social concerns, it's likely to get worse. And if you have a jobless hero roaming around, trying to make a general impression on her, the devastation is complete.
What's disheartening is that this isn't much of a love tale at all. You see, when the roots that I had mentioned earlier grab all the limelight, there isn't much of a scope for anything else. Hence we see the two individuals who are supposed to fall in love run from pillar to post, on a quest to find out Irene's parents, and by the time they do, it's time to end the tale.
Mission Identity Unearthing isn't an easy watch, and after a while, it gets plain boring. The last one hour of the film looks like a toy helicopter with a faulty remote that flies this way and that before dashing into a wall and crashing on to the ground.
When Sidharthan and Irene start pretending to be husband and wife for sheer professional reasons, you drop your jaws in disbelief. We thought we were done with all that drama, and it props up again, making us shake our heads this way and that.
At one hundred and forty minutes, 'Oru Indian Pranayakatha' is a bit too long, and the latter half in particular is a test on fortitude. Jaisalmer is too far away, and when Sishdarthan suggests that they make the journey to Rajasthan, you sigh, knowing very well that they will refuse to leave until they dance to their heart's content in the sand dunes. And woah, you are indeed right!
Perhaps in an attempt to keep up with the changing times, a highly embarassing scene is wedged into an otherwise calmingly serene Anthikkadan narrative. Irene sitting next to Sidharthan in a bus, tries to test his self control, but getting a bit too close to him. When the time arrives to alight from the bus, Sidharthan refuses to get up for very obvious reasons. Well, fantastic, but no way does it fit in here.
Fahad does succeed in making Sidharthan an endearing chap, but the writing is too shallow and does not let you get any closer to him. Amala Paul looks chic, while Shafna Nizam makes her presence felt. Innocent is around in a brief role as well.
And thus it is, that 'Oru Indian Paranayakatha' adds itself to the list of imminently forgettable love yarns. And no amount of visual glitter will serve to lessen the yawns that it generates.
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