Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham Malayalam Movie
Director Muhashin's "Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham" is a movie of two contrasting halves. The first half is a relatively positive story of a struggling youth named Bachu, played by Basil Joseph. The story is set in the Malabar area during the early coronavirus phase. Bachu's event business is facing a big loss as the virus forces the enforcement of strict social distancing norms. His money lender Rajesh, played by Sudheesh, tells Bachu to give the money back, but Bachu promises that things will ease up soon. However, Bachu soon realizes that there can only be so much positivity in a world that is quickly becoming isolated.
For a large part of the first half, Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham seems rather uneventful. Yes, there is Bachu and his struggles to keep his business afloat. Muhashin and his writer Naisam Salam also give us glimpses of Bachu's relationship dynamics with his family members. He has a complicated relationship with his father. He is annoyed that his younger sister is keeping her husband away over a seemingly small domestic issue. These elements make the movie engaging, but you get the impression that there is a big dramatic twist around the corner. And when that dramatic event finally comes around, we expect some solid drama. Unfortunately, however, Muhashin and Naisam fail to capitalize on the promising start of the film.
It is not enough to merely show what happens in the family and how its members react to it. You have to feel it in your bones, and it has to feel earned, but this rarely happens here. The performances all seem alright, but you always get the impression that the actors are holding back a lot. You know enough about what is on the mind of each character, but you cannot reach out to them. In a strange way, this is a true representation of life during COVID, but it does not make for engaging cinema. Take Bachu himself, for instance. There is never a moment where he lets out his emotions; rather, it is controlled emotion that he shows.
The pacing dips considerably in the second half, and the movie labors its way to a fairly predictable conclusion. The makers initiate an interesting discussion on whether we should value family emotions or stick to the rules, but they do not do much with this idea.
Sreeja Ravi is pretty decent as the Umma character, but her voice seems like that of a younger person probably because of the countless films she dubbed for actors like Kavya Madhavan. It is really weird to listen to her share pleasantries and romantic views with her Gulf-settled husband. Basil Joseph is really good in some individual scenes, but I wished for a better output in his combination scenes, especially the ones with his mother. Jaffar Idukki has a really nice scene with Basil, and he comes across as the most sure-footed performer in Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham, despite his limited screen time.