Sakudumbam Shyamala Malayalam Movie
You might be a homemaker who dreams of being the Chief Minster, not just of your house, but of the state for a change. Do not lose heart if your plans don't seem to be working out brilliantly well; instead walk straight into a protest march in front of the Secretariat when the lathi charge by the police is on in full swing. Make sure to dodge the blows, settle yourself down in some comfortable corner where you are not likely to be trodden upon, and start tearing your saree and crying out at the top pf your voice.
For all you know, you might get branded as a living martyr and if a bit more lucky, you might even get to contest the next elections. Ask Shyamala (Urvasi), for she knows. She has been through the entire process and back.
'Sakudumbam Shyamala' directed by Radhakrishnan Mangalath and scripted by Krishna Poojappura talks of a woman who is at war with her brother (Nedumudi Venu), the Collector, living next door and who has two major aims in life. The first one to defeat the devil-next-door in all possible ways and the other one to ship her son (Kunchacko Boban) across to the US and get him married to the daughter of a rich NRI.
Shyamala often has nightmares, where she ends up beating up her brother. Her hubby (Saikumar) sleeping next to her often gets injured in the process. As destiny would have it, she runs into a local politician Pappan (Suraj) and a protest march that changes her life for ever. Believe it or not, she occupies prime time on TV as the survivor of police brutality and soon gets to contest the elections. And does she win? Yes.
Believability is what this film seriously lacks, and as for the jokes, there aren't many around that are worth laughing over. Most of the situations that the script comes up with are painfully silly, and it's quite unsatisfying dramatically as well. The comedy loses its punch with the contexts turning out to be increasingly lame, and the drama has lots of trouble getting its points across.
What is really embarrassing is the song picturisation. The dream sequence that has Shyamala and her family taking a tour around the world belongs to another era altogether. The make-believe effect might have been intentional, but it fails big time.
Urvasi is one of the few actresses who has been lucky enough to stage a worthy comeback, and get three of her films named after her character, be it 'Achuvinte Amma', 'Mummy & Me' or now 'Sakudumbam Shyamala'. She is tremendously good, even in this highly mediocre scenario, and the film would have fallen flat on its face, if it had been any other actor in her place. The mild chuckles that emanate here and there are thanks to this amazing actress. The rest of the cast are pretty good in their respective roles as well, and do whatever little they have to do with confidence.
It's sad to see such talent as that of Uravsi's being squandered on such one note characters. And it's a shame that our film makers bank merely on her comic flair instead of molding demanding characters worthy of the brilliant performer in her.
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