Anchiloral Arjunan Malayalam Movie

Jan 22, 2007 By Unni Nair

Attempting an honest review of the Anil-directed Jayaram-starrer Anchil Oraal Arjunan is not easy. It's well made, is quite convincing, and has many of the ingredients that make for a Jayaram-film or a film directed by Anil. But still the question as to whether the film entertains you or touches you in some manner or whether you carry even an iota of it once you leave the theatre remains answered. And if at all the question is answered, it would probably be in the negative. In total this is a well-made film that could very well have been avoided. You are going to miss absolutely nothing by missing out on this one.

The film tells the story of Sudheendran fondly called Sudhi by everyone. He lives entirely for his family, which consists of his aged mother, his two aged unmarried paternal aunts, an elder sister and a younger sister. His elder sister Shanta was deserted by her husband immediately after her marriage. Sudhi, who has no job to call his own, has the responsibility of looking after them. He manages things somehow. He is often helped by Kovilakam Sreedharan, who runs a drama company, tutorial college, real estate business etc and also by Panathakolli Paul, a money lender, who lives in the attic of Sudhi's house.

Sudhi also gets support from Pavithra, who is in love with him and also from her father Padmanabhan, whom he often addresses as 'Guruji'. But Sudhi also has some enemies in the form of his paternal cousins Vijayan and Vinayan, both of whom are assisted by a crooked politician brother-in-law and advised by an equally crooked uncle. This gang of baddies is out to make life a hell for Sudhi and oust him and his family of five from the ancestral home and wrest the house and other property from them.

Then comes one Unni Menon from Delhi. Unni Menon's young daughter Saraswathy, lovingly called Sathi, is a doctor and is also Sudhi's childhood friend. Sudhi begins to love her and she too is intimate with him, but her engagement is soon fixed with Vinayan. She is also ready to tie the knot with Vinayan. What follows forms the plot of Anchil Oraal Arjunan.

Almost all the actors have done their roles perfectly well. Jayaram as Sudhi, Padmapriya as Pavithra, Samvritha as Sathi, Siddique as Vijayan, Madhu Warrier as Vinayan, Jagathy Sreekumar as Paul, Sreenivasan as Sreedharan, Venu Nagavalli as Padmanabhan, Kalpana as Shanta – all of them have put life into the characters that they portray. But still there is something missing in the film. It neither makes you laugh nor cry. Even if certain situations provoke laughter, you tend to forget them all too quickly.

Siddique has done his role very convincingly and is no doubt the perfect choice to play the role of Vijayan, but it is high time he tried not to be typecast. The character and the mannerisms seem very similar to those of umpteen characters he has already played. The same could be said of Jayaram too. These actors have to re-invent themselves.

The songs don't stay in your mind for long. And as for technical features, cinematography by Anandakuttan, editing by P.C. Mohanan and art-work by Gokuldas are well in tune with the theme. Screenplay and dialogues by T.A. Razack too is good. But the subject chosen doesn't seem to have anything new and is like old wine in a new bottle.