Anweshanam – Review

Aamir

Make it grim. Is that the thought you have before you make a thriller? Fine. But at the same time,
you have to send a message to the audience too. Why? Because that’s what they should say when
they get out of the theatre or download it from Tamil rockers – ‘the film had a good message in it.’
Bingo.

Anweshanam is a let-down in either case. Not that you are supposed to expect a ‘message film’
every time you go to the cinemas. I didn’t.

The film is directed by Prashobh Vijayan, shot by Sujith Vassudev and music scored by Jakes Bejoy.

Anweshanam stars Jayasurya, who has become the Mohanlal of the 2000s- becoming trapped in a
set of histrionics and class appeal that has become monotonous. Also starring is Shruti
Ramachandran, playing Kavitha, Aravind (Jayasurya’s) wife, Vijay Babu as Dr Goutham, Leona Lishoy
as the ACP and Nandu.

Yes, the movie tries to be grim, going to and fro in time around the events of the same day.

Okay.

Story.

A boy, 7 year old, falls down from the stairs and is rushed to the hospital by Dr Goutham (Vijay Babu)
and his mother Kavitha. The police get an anonymous call from the hospital informing that the kid
has suffered child abuse.

ACP, who happens to be in the station, goes to the hospital with Nandu and Jay Vishnu to
investigate.

The film builds up with the interrogation of the parents and the hospital staff who treated the kid.
The testimonies of each person contribute in expanding the story.

The first half of the film is dull and the cinematography- which is crucial to a thriller if not for other
movies, is a huge let down. Sujith Vassudev’s camera is present only to capture some close and mid
shots. Apart from the characters nothing much features in the shots- nothing which could have
reflected the subtexts of the film. (The recently released ‘Helen’ was an example for engaging
cinematography as far as a commercial movie is concerned.) This is one reason Anweshanam didn’t
sink into my mind.

The film picks up post-interval and the ‘cover up’ scenes are where the director finally takes a grip on
the pace. Soon enough, the film drops the' message' bomb and it ends as if all was done for nothing.

Yes, child abuse is criminal. But a film is not just a Public Service announcement, is it. You build up
the whole film on the topic and in the end; you completely lost it out for an ‘accident’.
The characters, all of them, except Lena’s are half boiled mannequins. Lena’s Soni Cherian is
probably the only character in the film that has a justification to why she behaves the way she does.
The actor, at times underplaying, is perfect in the film.

Jayasurya, who plays a hurt family man, again, seems to have come out directly from 2011’s
‘Cocktail’ and performed in the film. A fantastic actor who could have done much more, his
performance as Aravind will be drowned among the many number of film characters the actor
releases in the same year.

The laziest trope in the film is its music. Revelations are supplemented with the age old opera-
screaming-woman music. Dialogues which are ‘supposed’ to touch the family audiences – ‘Nammal
entha ini avalodu paraya’ (What will we tell her, Aravindan and Kavitha on telling their daughter
about the death) etc are accompanied by the ‘senti’ music. Who is gonna tell the director that a
moving scene, WILL move the audience. You don’t have to use indicators to spoon feed them agony.

On the promotional posters of the film, it was written that ‘this could happen in your home’. Of
course it does. Who does the film talks for ? It conveniently shifts its bias, throughout the runtime,
not addressing the issue of accountability.

Running 122 minute, Anweshanam is not a terrible film. At the same time, what is more terrible than
an immemorable film wasting man hours and money?

P.S : Someone recently pointed out in Facebook that Malayalis go awestruck when a director shows
them drone shots. I don’t. Beginning and ending the film with the shot doesn’t demand much
brilliance.

Rating: 2.5/5