Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan Malayalam Movie
Shibu Balan's 'Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan' appears for a while that it might have a point or two to make on the miserable garbage disposal system of the state, and then makes a detour into some rotten politics instead eventually leaving a mark in neither. There is nothing for the Sreenivasan fan out here, except truck loads of gloom.
Sreenivasan plays Venu in the film, a middle aged expatriate who has taken up a job as a security man at a residential flat. His family that comprises of his wife (Sangeetha) and daughter () has very moderate dreams in mind. The young girl who burns midnight oil with the hope of grabbing a merit seat in the medical entrance examination is a reason for worry for the parents who are scared at the prospects of her seemingly impossible failure.
But fail she does, and Venu decides to sell off the five cents of land that he had bought a couple of decades ago in the city, to buy her a management seat in a private medical college. He is aghast to find that the long ignored piece of land has been transformed into a garbage dumping ground by the local residents and with the aid of Davis (Innocent) sets about to get the land cleared of the waste.
There are sparks of the original Sreenivasan writing though in sparse in the former half of the film, and Venu does manage to bring in a few smiles here and there. The satirical darts that Sreeni had so efficiently employed in several films of his are fired every now and then, with a few of them hitting the bull's eye and a much greater number landing way off the mark.
But in the latter half the fire in Sreeni's pen (or rather what is left of it) fizzles out and it feels as if someone has poured a glass of iced water all over. The course is lost, the purpose becomes foggy and the ultimate finale sounds like a huge compromise. Caught in a quagmire of disjointed events, Venu and his tale turns disoriented to the hilt.
Business here goes on pretty much the usual, with the story throwing up no fresh surprises or starts. And you keep reminiscing of those good old days, when the very same writer would entertain you with his sharp wit and spiky repartee, none of which is visible in what you are watching on screen.
Those vigorous efforts to meld together some fun and facts fall flat on their face, and a gleaming empty package that has stuffed itself with hollow characters surfaces instead. It's nothing short of tragic to see the depth that these artistes have fallen to, and as they heave and grunt along the muddled cityscape, they leave the hapless audience stranded along the alleyways as well.
There is no fresh challenge for Sreenivasan the actor in 'Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan', and there is an even lesser challenge for the writer in him. It's refreshing to see Sangeetha back in films after a while, and though Sunitha is no Shyamala, she does leave a charming impact. Lal, Innocent and Manoj K Jayan are just their usual selves.
Despite a buoyant start, Shibu Balan's directorial debut is hampered by some shoddy writing that should dishearten the viewer who expects the Sreenivasan - Sangeetha magic in 'Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala' to light up the screen yet again. 'Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan' is a tonally wonky effort that unfortunately feels like a total waste of time.