Kunjamminis Hospital Malayalam Movie
'Kunjamminis Hospital' has a riveting prelude by coalescing voice over by Dhyan Sreenivasan and a couple of intriguing shots. But the sheen only stays there. Sanal Devan's directorial debut is conceived as a horror comedy in the fantasy milieu where spirits rule the roost. When the tale starts to occupy its place, good hopes are promptly doused and such a lost feeling exists throughout the film. Eventually, there is hardly any charm and vitality in the listless screenplay and the miserable treatment. The spooky sequences fade themselves from the origin and the intended comic elements bite the dust handsomely.
The film begins with the efforts of Rini (Nyla Usha) to convert a dilapidated lodge to a hospital. Actually, before the lodge's existence, the building was Kunjamminis Hospital. Now, Rini wants to renovate Kunjamminis Lodge and transform it into Kunjamminis Hospital. With help of her neighbour Rajan Kartha (Prasanth Alexander), Rini starts the renovation work. While the painting work is going on, Rini and the workers feel the presence of spirits in the building.
The spirits mainly include Kanika (Nyla Usha), Dr Leon Ilanjikkaran (Indrajith Sukumaran), Mala Varkey (Baburaj) and Susanna (Sarayu Mohan). Among them, Kanika is the most malicious as she wants to avenge humans around her for the death of both her daughter and hers. These spirits have no clue why they still can't escape from the hospital and reach heaven. Each one has different stories for the cause of their deaths. Varkey, who was a butcher and drunkard, had an illicit affair with another woman despite having an affectionate wife. His intimacy with his paramour leads to his death. Susanna was in love with a flautist of her music band but in a bid to commit suicide, only she dies.
Meanwhile, the hospital has the back-story of Dr Chacko (Prakash Raj) associated with it. Rini wants to know the reason behind the unusual events at the hospital. So, she calls on Dr Chacko to know if any strange incidents happened in the hospital during his service. Then the past of Dr Chacko is revealed through the narration of his former hospital staff, played by Harisree Ashokan.
Written by Abhaya Kumar and Anil Kurian, it is a simulation of cliched tales of spirits, who yearn for the holy space in heaven at any cost. The tussle among spirits for a powerful ring is gravely portrayed here but it only conveys ridiculous effect in the decisive part of the movie. 'Kunjamminis Hospital' comes alive only when the characters start to narrate their flashbacks. That too falls flat with inane events failing to contribute significantly to the plot. The tale of Indrajith gives a sense of relevance due to its underlying humour in it and also justifies his presence in the hospital.
Disappointingly, there is no worthy performance to be mentioned albeit Nyla Usha has a convincing presence in the dual role. Indrajith manages to elevate his sequences to an extent despite the lack of depth in the characterization. Overall, this fantasy-horror drama with the accompaniment of comedy is bland and desperately struggles to be faithful to the genre.
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