Lukka Chuppi Malayalam Movie
Long after college, six friends in Bash Mohammed's 'Lukka Chuppi' - Reghu (Jayasurya), Sidharth (Murali Gopy), Rafeeq (Joju George), Annie (Chinnu Kuruvilla), Radhika (Ashmita Sood) and Xavier (Saiju Kurup) - meet up to share how they have been doing with their lives. Dusty romantic trysts and a treasure load of reminiscences are unearthed much to the dismay of their life partners, and as the night moves on laughter gives way to resentment and tears.
There have been films aplenty that have dealt with the nostalgia that we seem to thrive on, and 'Lukka Chuppi' is no exception in that the friends who meet up after a decade and more hold on to those very singular memories that had rendered their campus life special. Of these some do pass over their fragrance, while some others merely appear as adjuncts that do not much rake up an emotion in us.
The characterisation in 'Lukka Chuppi' is shaky in the sense that the women in it fall into two distinct categories - the wives, portrayed as insecure individuals who keep hoping against hope that their husbands aren't snatched away before the end of the night, and the confident class mates who still seem to have the upper hand over the men, despite fourteen long years having passed and much water having flowed under the bridge.
This does not however make 'Lukka Chuppi' a formulaic film, and it does make a few efforts to break conventions. I best liked the first fifteen minutes of the film as Reghu walks in and settles down, when joined by Sidharth and family. Gradually, as the gathering gets bigger with more characters pouring in, it becomes a crowd that at times turns too difficult to handle.
The emotional baggage that the film carries is too cumbersome at times, like when Narayanettan (Indrans) appears, with a package of Unniappams for them. There is also Suhara (Muthumani) who rushes after a distraught Benny (Dinesh Prabhakar) and offers him her bangles, as the script anxiously ensures that we have accurately figured out who Suhara truly is!
There are a few hilarious occasions in 'Lukka Chuppi' where it becomes obvious that Bash Mohammed is a film maker whom we should take note of. But the script that is a bit too self indulgent slips away from the director's hands and assumes a cinematic shape that is almost hedonistic , where nothing else - not even the tale that it tells - matters.
It doesn't take long for things to be set right either in 'Lukka Chuppi' and as if waiting for some divine intervention, the erring ones take to Xavier who arrives in clergy attire, with all seriousness. He moves from one couple to the next, mending those torn ends and whispering counsel, which even prompts Sidharth's wife (Remya Nambeesan) to dash off an apology to Radhika.
Of the actors, Murali Gopy earns himself a place that is miles ahead of the rest, and one only has to watch this actor in action in his scenes with Jayasurya (before the rest of the ensemble sashay in) to see what I'm talking about. The unmistakable sparkle in his eyes as he talks of having watched the woman of his dreams walk towards him during a downpour is what makes Murali an actor I love to watch time and again.
Jayasurya as the drunkard designer is quite imposing, and Joju Georgeand Dinesh Prabhakar have their moments as well. Of the women, Muthumani is easily the best, and comes up with a cracker of a performance that makes Suhara the most endearing of the lot. Chinnu Kuruvilla is remarkable as Annie, while Remya Nambeeshan plays the role of the apprehensive wife adequately well. The gorgeous Asmitha Sood however looks the odd one out in 'Lukka Chuppi'.
Bash Mohammed's 'Lukka Chuppi' does dare to take the plummet down from those mammoth heights, but with a rickety narrative realizes that the parachute simply wouldn't open up. It does land on the ground with a thud, but nevertheless makes sure that its endeavour does not go totally unobserved.
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