14 February Malayalam Movie
It's a snap to write a formulaic romance with elements of nostalgia in it. In that way, the premise of '14 February' sounds familiar as it hinges on the infatuation of a teen, who wistfully ruminates on his lost love even in his 40's. But the lukewarm emotions of the protagonist coupled with uninspiring execution by director Vijay Chambath sidelines the film that obviously struggles to connect with viewers. A simple tale is on offer by writer Anil Parameswaran with a twist in the end yet lack of punch spoils the intended impact.
'14 February' focuses on the life of Anand aka RJ Ananthu (Harith Vijayakrishnan), an employee at 98.9 First FM radio station. Still a bachelor in his 40's, Anand is bearing the wounds inflicted on him by his first love as a teenager. His parents, who are not aware of his past love affair, persuade him to marry but in vain. Anandu is leading a lonely life and he finds solace in the company of his colleague Amritha aka RJ Ammalu (Aiswarya Nambiar). Meanwhile, a film director, played by Jayaraj Warrier, is impressed by Anand's radio programme based on romance and becomes curious to know about his past. The director approaches Amritha to help him know about Anand's past romance so that he could write a film script inspired from his life story.
Prodded by Amritha, Anand divulges about his love affair with Jayasree (Arathy R Nair) in his college days. Jayasree, who was based in Mumbai, had been living in the house of her close relative Mohanan (Meghanathan). Anand falls for her at first sight but he lacks the pluck to talk to her. One night, prompted by Preman (Narayanankutty), Anand along with his friends go to Jayasree's house to meet her. But that night becomes a turning point in the life of Anand.
The movie stumbles by leaning more on contrived moments than effective situations and it chooses an overstretched dramatic path to unravel the truth about the hero's past. At one stage, the investigation by Anand's father Parameswaran (Nandu Krishnamurthy), a retired police officer, into the truth behind the mental conflict of Anand gives some hope about the tale. But that hope is doused by a prolonged tedious process to the epilogue. Apart from rehashing cliched perfunctory teenage romantic sequences and producing a tad curiosity in the climax, the movie accomplishes little to win hearts.
Lacklustre performances of Mithun Antony, who plays the teenage role of Anand, as well as Arathy R Nair, who appears as teenage Jayasree, gravely affect the proceedings at the decisive phases. Vijay Chambath misses significantly the narrative skill to grab the attention to the events while transforming them from the page to screen. Interestingly, the vital support from the cast is absent in the film to make it worthy enough to be a delightful to watch. Here, the attempt to rekindle nostalgic romance results in a tiring cinematic experience engulfed in obsolete dramatic moments. The plot has a romantic milieu but the vibes of it is not permeated properly to make the experience felt and thus it culminates as a soulless romantic drama.
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