A discussion in an early scene between the siblings hovers on topics like dowry and Kurien’s weight (a refreshingly self-aware touch from producer Pauly, who does look heavier) without landing on anything. Or rather, we should say the ordinary becomes extraordinary. We laugh with them, tear up with them (Kurien's recollection of his mother’s bravery in Kuwait left me puddle-eyed) - not because they face an extraordinary situation but because they go through it so ordinarily. And, course, the children: Mary (Srinda Arhaan), Sarah (Ahaana Krishna) and the London-returned Kurien (Nivin Pauly).ĪLSO READ: BARADWAJ RANGAN'S REVIEW OF ADAM JOANĮven the minor characters - like Sarah’s boyfriend who faces Kurien with amusing amounts of confidence, or even the recurring packets of junk food - are marvellous. The best friend (Krishna Shankar), who seems as married to his supermarket as to his sharp-tongued wife. The brother-in-law (Siju Wilson) whose stinginess is made fun of, but never cruelly. The mother (Shanthi Krishna, a beacon of poise, calm and collected even when her world turns upside down) who wants to go home in the middle of a movie. The cowardly father (Lal) who speaks in outrageously funny metaphors.
The characters are vivid, the performances wonderfully warm. It’s not just the connections between the people on screen - we feel related to them. I haven’t seen a film in a while that gave us such a strong sense of family.
#NJANDUKALUDE NATTIL ORIDAVELA TAMILROCKERS MOVIE#
A video recording of you during the movie will show you smiling a lot. The tone isn’t haha (though there are many laugh-out-loud moments). We do get scenes in hospitals and scenes featuring the dismaying after-effects of treatment, but the defining mood is that of the stretch where a doctor (Saiju Kurup) is asked to please leave the office - his own office - so the family gathered there can sort things out. He takes a scary disease, the fount of a thousand on-screen tragedies, and makes a film that’s - there’s no other word for it - wholesome. That’s the film in a nutshell, and director Althaf Salim’s achievement is in not crossing the boundaries of good taste.
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