Samadhana Pusthakam Malayalam Movie
The good intentions of debutant director Raveesh Nath are palpable in his maiden film that discusses a relevant theme. At the outset, Raveesh takes us to a Higher Secondary School where he opens the first chapter of 'Samadhana Pusthakam.' When you rifle through it, the realization that dawns on you is that the director has done the homework as he navigates us through the fancied world of teenagers. Halfway through the book, you make out that the content is too familiar for you and it is difficult to stick on to it consistently. Either the narration needs to be improved or something outstanding must happen there. But the content is set for a parable and thus its execution is template-driven.
With a screenplay co-written with Arun D Jose, who has helmed 'Jo&Jo' and '18+,' the director unveils the puerile acts and infatuations of teenage students. Now, when we enter into the core of the plot, the need for of sex education among teens strikes first. Raveesh takes us to the period of 2000 where he showcases Plus Two students furtively hankering after porn magazines. Indeed, there are funny moments while teenagers adopt different methods to have a glimpse of obscene magazines and pictures. At times, the screenplay exudes its erratic nature by showing a teacher hiding behind a wall and asking the shop seller for porn magazine.
Despite the follies in the tale, the curiosity of adolescence is neatly portrayed in the film. The film opens with the cultural event of a Higher Secondary School where Principal Sheena Antony (Leona Lishoy) strictly forbids girls and boys from mingling with each other freely. During his speech in the programme, chief guest Alex Xavier (Siju Wilson), an alumnus of the school as well as a successful startup founder, realizes the situation of the school and recalls an incident that happened in that school in 2000.
The flashback shows how Class 10 student Adarsh Madhavan (Dhanus) gets a porn magazine and struggles to read it on the sly. His classmate Muthalib (Irfan) lands himself in soup as he faces threat from shop owner Naxal Chellappan (Pramod Veliyanad), who had rented it out to him. But the book creates problems in the life of Adarsh and Muthalib. The film's major focus is on this book to drive home a message that is evolved in the climax in a preachy manner.
'Samadhana Pusthakam' marks a period where the Internet, cellphones and other technologies were things of obscurity. The school life and frailties of teenagers have come out well but the content could have been more compact and riveting. In his cameo appearance, Siju Wilson has hardly anything to offer in terms of performance apart from motivating the students. Veena Nair, who plays Adarsh's mother Rema, has an effective outing throughout the movie, especially in the climax. Dhanus has also given a satisfying performance by depicting the innocence of a schoolboy.
The flick is more immersed in the school life and thus it faces the hurdles of going beyond its frontier to make the content appealing. The message-driven climax conveys the purpose but still the flashback remains as just an example that serves the didactic motive of the film. The film demands the vital need to elevate the content into distinctive territory to kindle our interest in it throughout. Though the film raises the need for sex education among teens, the script is hardly fulfilling the intended task and it turns out to be an insipid affair in the end.
