Secret Malayalam Movie
It is an attempt to create a new cinematic territory by leveraging the intricacies of psychology. 'Secret' marks the directorial debut of veteran scenarist S N Swamy, who explores various dimensions of synchronicity (coincidental occurrence of psychic events) that affects the life of a youngster. While juggling with such a quixotic theme, its visual translation demands a solid plot born out of a strong creative exercise. Swamy has brazenly placed the events that are highly inorganic to navigate the path of the tale. Dhyan Sreenivasan plays the protagonist in dilemma in this predictable flick and its conflict hardly affects you at any stage. A good amount of time has been invested in delineating the psychological theories in an effort to define the fate of the hero. But that kind of attention eludes the screenplay with the proceedings turning out to be an absolutely dismal affair.
The plot conflict emerges when Midhun, played by Dhyan Sreenivasan, along with his friends Ameya (Aparna Das) and Prince (Jacob Gregory), a cinematographer in films, go to Vaitheeswaran Temple, Tanjavur, to attend the wedding of their friend Moorthy (Kalesh Ramanand). They meet an astrologer, who admonishes Midhun about his impending marriage with Shreya, played by Ardra Mohan. A panic-stricken Midhun falls in a befuddled state by pondering over his relationship with Shreya.
Now, psychology theories like synchronicity and the system of entropy, besides a smattering of thermodynamics, find room in the plot as we are introduced to psychologist Dr Mathews (Ranjith). Swamy, who is known for his 'CBI' franchise films, embraces certain peculiar norms from science and psychology to make us convinced of the intention of the film. But 'Secret' finds it hard to unravel its essence due to the lack of a good script. The contrived sequences coupled with sporadic songs in the initial stages vividly expose the pretty conventional route of the film.
Dhyan is extremely sincere in portraying the dismay of a youngster, whose marriage is in the offing. Within the limitations of the screenplay, he was able to convey the complexities of the character. Still, the movie fails to draw good performances from its cast and the occurrence of events strikingly coincides with the thoughts of viewers. The sequence of Ranji Panicker, who plays an MLA, at the police station stands as the typical example of the puerile approach of the director.
Another far-fetched as well as disappointing sequence is the peculiar vision of characters Prince gets through his camera during his film shoot. The way the director uses such scenes to justify the theories is simply pathetic. The elaborate lecture by Dr Mathews about 'Believe in You' idea struggles to strike a chord with the output of 'Secret' that permeates lethargic vibes in its task to move towards the finishing line. At any level, the film hardly becomes intense; instead giving the innuendos of its frivolous and lack-lustre package bristled with slipshod writing and poor execution.
