Aan Mariya Kalippilaanu Malayalam Movie
Anne Mariya Kalippilanu: There is one inspired casting in Midhun Manuel Thomas's children's movie, which somehow prevents the whole affair from turning into a sheer travesty. It isn't the titular character "Anne" played by the cute angel, Baby Sara. And nor is it Sunny Wayne, who's far from the brilliance which he showcased in his debut Second Show, but earnest nevertheless.
I haven't seen the posters, haven't read anything about the movie beforehand either. Hence it' a surprise for me at least to see Dulquer Salman in a guest role, looking as charming as ever.
The makers cleverly place him front & center in an extended cameo; that might put a smile on the faces of the audiences, children especially. Ultimately the movie is meant to cheer up kindred spirits among adolescent children albeit at the expense of a pedestrian plot full of inventive, at times inevitable, comic bits. More on that later.
What to Expect: Imagine an ersatz, hotchpotch of a children's comedy adventure which takes cues from "Phillips and the Monkey Pen" and "Om Shanti Oshana" with a tinge of Wes Anderson being thrown in to the mix.
Ann Mariya is the doting child of a couple who's is on the verge of a divorce. The sexy Leona Lishoy is a refreshing choice to play the mother of an adolescent kid, whereas the ever dependable Saiju Kurup plays the father. The duo meets a mid-marriage crossroads when a man named "Poombatta Gireesh" (played by Sunny Wayne) inadvertently makes an entry into their kid's life, turning their whole lives topsy- turvy.
You can see shades of Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Moonrise Kingdom) especially in the way in which the movie exudes sheer whim and nothing except "whim." The makers maintain the tone lighthearted and the pace of the movie uptight as one would least expect them to do.
This is in contrary to the director's previous work "Aadu Oru Bheekarajeeviyanu" the so-called comic caper that gave us a nightmarish time at the box-office. But hey, nor does it make full potential of its star-studded cast, not least its leading lady, much like how "Om Shanti Oshana" did either.
Those who have seen Nazriya's performance in "Om Shanti" would appreciate the effervescent and the tomboy -esque Baby Sara, who doesn't speak Malayalam surprisingly. It's still early days to judge her but she certainly can hold a screen, that for sure.
The fast cuts which Anderson uses is nowhere to be seen in the movie even as the jokes come thick and fast, not for once losing the gist of the proceedings. No matter the sheer ridiculousness of what's on screen, I guess it's inevitable that you would laugh out loud. Which I did btw for couple of scenes at least.
What is even more inevitable is the manner in which the jokes in the film are written and put together. I can't touch up on each and every scene maybe because time and tide waits for nobody. This is meant to be a shorthand review after all.
One of the inventive bits featuring Sunny Wayne's character "Poombatta Gireesh" seem brilliant on paper but is somewhat marred by poor sense of timing and lackluster editing. We see the actor flutter across to do a confrontation with a physical trainer, only to finally wind himself up under a canal, with the "ta..ta..ta" opening credits of a famous Hollywood studio, playing in the background. It is a brilliant, nigh eclectic way of making a jibe. But the problem is, we know where it's headed and we know what exactly its repercussions are. The scene that follows at the fag end of the film do justify things to quite an extent, however, and gives a soul to these characters. The same kind of sole which was missing in "Aadu."
It's a pity then the writers couldn't quite conceal the true identity of Sunny Wayne's character. What's pity, even more, is that we know Dulquer is there in the film, that too beforehand. Don't the makers realize the sheer pleasure of watching someone play a cameo, lies on the sheer surprise factor itself?
Anyways, I'm may be being a tad guilty of taking it all a bit too seriously as always; an inclination which the makers seem to have curbed in "Ann Mariya." It's a children's movie after all, and thankfully one that doesn't necessarily exude the "furious anger" /Kalippu as conveyed in the title. That is the last thing one would take out of "Ann Mariya Kalippilanu." As some guy named Red once put it mildly in Shawshank redemption - "maybe the best of things" as well.