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Nadikar Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2024 | Drama
Critics:
Tovino Thomas excels in this cine-world drama that explores the dilemma of a superstar to stay afloat in the tinsel town. But the treatment and narration are pretty shallow to create a meaningful connection with the events.
May 3, 2024 By K. R. Rejeesh

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Apart from holding a mirror against the vanity of actors with little potential, 'Nadikar' also takes a potshot at lethargic actors who forget to stay-grounded after tasting success in a row. The film, directed by Lal Jr., relates the intensity of nadir in the life of an actor due to ensconcing on the seat of stardom sans introspection about his career. With all the myriad shades of humour and sarcasm, Lal Jr. astoundingly hobbles in his execution of such a promising theme. Altogether, the director loses solid communication through scenes right from the off. The treatment and narration are pretty shallow to create a meaningful connection with the events. The film is about the life of a film actor and his struggles to cope with professional setbacks. Tovino Thomas excels in this cine-world drama that explores the dilemma of a superstar to stay afloat in the tinsel town.


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Tovino plays superstar David Padikkal, who struggles to regain his strong foothold in the industry close on the heels of the failure of his recent flicks. The humiliation meted out to him by senior director Koshy, played by Ranjith, at the shooting location pushes David to the brim of depression. But production controller Paily, played by Suresh Krishna, pacifies him and advises to learn acting from a theatre veteran (Soubin Shahir) in Alappuzha.



Writers Suvin S and Somasekharan try to convey the absurdity in the emergence of a superstar in the film industry on the basis of haute and macho appearance alone on screen. The script underscores the indispensable need of an actor to do necessary homework prior to his performance, besides having some reading habits. David is more interested in drunken orgies and boozing than focusing on his acting career. But when a decline occurs, he starts to realize the need for stabilizing his profession. Here, 'Nadikar' enters its vital phase where David becomes aware of the importance of imbibing the intense feelings of characters to perform well on screen.



The film showcases how the protagonist relates his personal experience while doing a vital scene in a movie. Amidst the flurry of flashy and racy shots in the movie, Tovino is able to exude all kinds of emotions with utmost easiness even as the flick loses its emotional connection with viewers quite often. Obviously, the peripheral treatment of the theme gives a skin-deep impact altogether. Bhavana plays cine star Ann, who once was David's lover. But the proceedings of the film struggle to create ample room for Bhavana's character.



Alby's commendable effort accomplishes in creating swanky frames and colourful visuals of various locations, befitting to the luxurious life of an elite hero. Soubin's character is portrayed as a pivotal individual in David's acting career but, in fact, the character hardly gives any convincing impact. The introduction of Chandu Salimkumar as David's fan is critical in the movie's plot but factors like these go unnoticed due to slipshod execution. The emotional conflict of the hero in the climax is conceived as a grave scene; still it struggles to emotionally usurp and satisfy the sensibilities of viewers. With its wafer-thin plot, 'Nadikar' has a vaunted premise and cast except a solid story-telling pattern.

K. R. Rejeesh

   

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