REVIEW: HOME (Malayalam)

Producer- Vijay Babu

Director- Rojin Thomas

Star Cast-Indrans, Sreenth Bhasi Nelson K. Gafoor, Manju Pillai, Deepa Thomas , Johny Anthony, Maniyanpilla Raju, Anup Menon and Aju Varghese

Genre- Social

OTT Platform- Amazon Prime Video

Emotional Masterpiece!

Rating-***1/2

Jyothi Venkatesh

Technically challenged Oliver Twist (Indrans) is the father of two such boys (Antony Twist (Sreenath Bhasi) and Charles Twist (Naslen K Gafoor) who are now grown up and navigate their own routes in their respective lives but fail to acknowledge their down to earth and honest father who is a silent giver, but never for even once sets out to glorify his victories.

It is interesting to see the old man Oliver keen to learn the new technology, precisely the smartphone, when he sees his sons dealing with it almost 24/7 and bond and keep pace in the digital age.

Sandwiching between the father and the sons and always on her toes, is Oliver’s wife Kuttiyamma (Manju Pillai) who manages to win hearts as the mother who is the real backbone of the family.

Anthony is, by the way, a filmmaker basking in the success of his debut film, and is struggling to write his second movie.

With an ultimatum from his producer, he comes home, a place where he wrote his first script, to find some spark.

With constant pressure from the producer to keep up his deadline to complete the project, Anthony’s relationship with his fiancé as well as his family falls apart while his father tries his best to keep everything afloat.

Though the film is indeed a milestone at a time when Malayalam Cinema comes up with dark ad grim films and has all the comic, sweet moments, it is the final 20 minutes of the film which tug at your heartstrings, proving it amply that it is indeed a film where the script definitely reigns supreme, though I’d say that it seems daunting at 161 minutes, and could have been edited slickly by at least 20 minutes by editor Prejish Prakash to make it tighter and gripping to the viewer.

As far as performances go, I should say that three cheers are definitely due to actor Indrans who is in general wasted as a supporting actor in Malayalam films, without being given an opportunity to get his teeth into his role.

Indrans is in great form and at times his performance brings tears to your eyes. The Indrans- Manju Pillai casting as a couple is apt, with each of them bringing to the fore a peculiar dimension as the husband and wife, adding a sweet, natural chemistry to their pairing.

They are first-class in their roles, as is Sreenath Bhasi, who is too good. The supporting cast of Srikant Murali, Vijay Babu and KPAC Lalitha etc lend heft to the film, in an equal measure.

In short, to put it in a nutshell, I’d say that it is an emotional masterpiece and it is after a long time that I have seen a relatable film which tugs at your hearts and leaves a deep impact because it mirrors life in every home.