C/O Saira Bhanu Malayalam Movie
It's all about the portrayal of motherhood of two women, who are living in different social milieu. Debutant director Antony Sony tries to explore their emotions and struggles to extricate their sons from a critical situation. Obviously, influence and money play a major role in deciding their fate. Here, at a glance, the message is clear in the content but the superficial treatment takes the sheen away from"C/o Saira Babu".
Usually, the characters portrayed by Manju Warrier have their own identity. They are distinct and even eclipse male protagonists in performance. Sometimes irrespective of the quality of the plot, it naturally becomes her onus to lead from the front. In "C/o Saira Banu", Manju, who appears in the eponymous role, reveals the spontaneity of her acting prowess once again, and also takes up the onus to revive the zeal in the story.
Living with her foster son Joshua Peter (Shane Nigum), this postwoman is anxious about the career of Joshua, an LLB student. Though half-heartedly, Saira Banu encourages his passion for photography. He longs to become a famous photographer like his late father Peter George.
Once Joshua's photograph notches up a scholarship for him from a famous wildlife magazine. As he prepares to leave for Paris, an unfortunate incident occurs in his life.
Meanwhile, the life of Adv. Annie John Tharavadi (Amala Akkineni) also unfolds before us. She's a famous lawyer and the incident occurred in Joshua's life sets the stage for the two women's face-off in court. If you expect Amala's comeback adds freshness to the film, you are wrong. Her performance, coupled with erroneous lip sync, provides disappointment. Also you expect spectacular performances when Manju and Amala together appear on screen, but the "Ente Suryaputhrikku" actress becomes a shadow of her old self.
Antony Sony could meticulously portray the backstage games when an ordinary woman fights for justice. But the filmmaker partially succeeds in bringing in the required intensity in the narration.
Written by Bipin Chandran and RJ Shaan, the screenplay entertains only in parts. There are efforts to hail motherhood and the scenes with Joshua's neighbour showcases religious harmony.
"C/o Saira Banu" doesn't offer any novelty in narration as it drives home a message. Despite it's share of drawbacks, the film is a decent attempt from a debutant director.
OTHER REVIEWS
Kiran & Allan