Notebook Malayalam Movie
About two years after his first movie 'Udayananu Tharam', Rosshan Andrews has come up with his second film, 'Notebook', produced by P.V. Gangadharan of Grihalakshmi Productions. In his second movie Roshan chose new comers to tell a teenage story in the backdrop of a convent school in Ooty. 'Notebook' is a colourful film with excellent performances from the lead cast.
Saira, Pooja and Sreedevi are close friends and are plus two students of Lords Academy, a boarding school in Ooty. While Saira and Sreedevi live in the hostel, Pooja is a day scholar and lives with her mother. Saira's parents are divorced. Sreedevi hails from a Brahmin family.
Under some very funny circumstances, Sreedevi and a boy named Suraj Menon fall in love. During an excursion they share some very intimate moments and get physical. As a result Sreedevi becomes pregnant. She reveals this to Saira and Pooja. The trio decides to handle the matter themselves and don't even intimate Suraj of this development. What happens in consequence forms the rest of the plot.
The film is set against the colourful backdrop of a boarding school and everything about the film is colourful. It captures the zest and joie de vivre of school life, and delves into issues like friendship, love, parental care etc. in a sensitive manner. Towards the end, the film gives us some very touching moments too.
The members of the cast have put in a good performance. It's Roma as Saira who impresses the most. Parvathi as Pooja and Maria as Sreedevi too are good. Suraj is a good choice. Mejo Joseph, who also tunes the songs for the film, has put in a very impressive performance as Feroz Ahmed, the rather meek and shy student who has a passion for music. Suresh Gopi as Brigadier Alexander (Saira's father) does an impressive guest role. Seeta as Pooja's mother too is impressive. Sukanya as Sreedevi's mother and Premprakash as Sreedevi's father make their roles apt. Bobby as the principal Father Antony, nicknamed Dragon by the students, is also a good choice. Aiswarya as Saira's mother is her very usual self.
The songs penned by Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma and set to tune by Mejo Joseph are good. Cinematography by R. Diwakar and art-work by Sunil Babu are the highlights of the film. Editor Ranjan Abraham could have made the film crispier at some points at least, especially in the first half.
To sum up, Notebook captures the zest and joie de vivre of school life, and delves into issues like friendship, love, parental care etc. in a sensitive manner.
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