Kathayile Nayika Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2011
Critics:
The cast is the best thing about Kathayile Nayika. There is pretty little else that would excite you about this film.
Aug 17, 2011 By Veeyen


Kathayile Nayika hints at no further complexity than is expected of a typical sitcom fare. This is the reason why despite the standout performances, the weak screenplay of the film succumbs to an inevitable downfall eventually.


Nandini (Urvasi) is a widow, who has been busy running a home with a salary that never seems to be enough. She works as a part time marriage broker as well, and hopes that her brother Siva (Kalabhavan Prajod) would some day realize his dreams of becoming an actor.


Shiva is an anchor at an evening show in a local television channel, and finds it difficult even to have enough callers for his phone-in program. Things go for a toss when a girl who rings up Shiva is murdered, while she is on the call. Her friend Archana (Roma), the only witness to the murder seeks Shiva's help to bring the culprits to book.


It's here that Kathayile Nayika has to deal with a few very grave narrative issues. For one, there almost seems to be two parallel threads running on - one with Nandini and her daily concerns, and the other with Shiva, Archana and the murder. Its only in the climax that they finally meet.


The climax when Nandini makes some surprising revelations is the weakest part of the film, where it almost collapses entirely under the weight of its make-believe story. The entire sequence seems like it was added on after much deliberation on what has to be done, and looks like it has been forcefully wedged into the narrative.


The plot has a lot of pit holes strewn all over it, that you might end up in one if you are paying too much of attention. So you tell yourself that this is just one of those films, where they are doing all that they can to make you have a good time. Its another matter altogether that we are not having a whale of a time, but we try hard anyway.


All said and done, there are a few genuinely hilarious moments in the film that arise mostly out of Prajod's and Urvasi's performances. These moments however cannot salvage an otherwise very mediocre film, that has arrived with neither too much hype nor hoopla.


Which brings us to the performances. Urvasi has been repeatedly seen in films of late, where she does shoulder the entire responsibility of making the film work, and this time, she has ample support in the form of Kalabhavan Prajod. He makes an amiable lead man, and does what he has been asked to do with remarkable ease.


The cast is thus the best thing about Kathayile Nayika. There is pretty little else that would excite you about this film.

Veeyen

   

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